3 key areas Chennai Super Kings need to improve to win IPL 2020
The most consistent side in the IPL, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have few things to improve upon to win IPL 2020.
Chennai Super Kings are without doubt the most consistent side in the IPL. After serving two years ban, they rebuilt the team under MS Dhoni, came back stronger to win the 2018 championship. They almost repeated their scintillating performance in 2019 before Mumbai Indians outdid them in the finals.
While CSK’s 2018 looked more settled, the 2019 team had few minor gaps owing to team combination and injuries. With mission 2020 in mind, what key areas they need to focus in order to have yet another successful campaign.
Before that, let’s analyze the Chennai Super Kings’ squad. Let’s see what decisions CSK need to take to win IPL 2020.
CSK SQUAD AHEAD OF IPL 2020 AUCTION:
Batsmen: Ambati Rayudu, Dhruv Shorey, Faf du Plessis, MS Dhoni, Murali Vijay, N Jagadeeshan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sam Billings, and Suresh Raina
All-rounders: Chaitanya Bishnoi, Kedar Jadhav, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, David Willey, Dwayne Bravo, and Shane Watson.
Bowlers: Deepak Chahar, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma, KM Asif, Mohit Sharma, Monu Kumar, Shardul Thakur, and Scott Kuggeleijn.
#3: Buy an experienced overseas Pacer
CSK have always had 1-2 experienced pacers in their squad that made them more lethal. Be it Doug Bollinger, Dirk Nannes, Ashish Nehra, Lungi Ngidi, etc.
IPL 2019, however, saw them relying heavily on their spinners. Apart from Deepak Chahar, who was an excellent power-play bowler, CSK really didn’t have anyone to rely on as they missed Lungi Ngidi dearly in 2019 considering the way he performed in 2018.
With 2020 in mind, CSK should let go of Scott Kuggeleijn, and then look to buy an experienced overseas pacer such as Lungi Ngidi himself to support Deepak Chahar.
#2: A well-settled Top-order
IPL 2018 saw CSK having a fixed combination of openers in the form of Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu. However, in IPL 2019 CSK didn’t have a settled opening combination as both their top openers struggled to find form. In the latter half of the tournament, Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson played as openers, who did good.
In IPL 2020, CSK would have to define their top 2 openers considering Team’s interest. I believe, Faf and Watto look solid, but Rayudu opening with Watto or Faf gives CSK an extra overseas pace option, which would make their bowling look more lethal.
#1: Individual ownership among Batsmen
When you have Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, and Dwayne Bravo in the batting-order, you are possibly looking at the most lethal batting-order among all teams.
But, if I tell you, in IPL 2019, except for MS Dhoni, and Faf du Plessis to some extent, none of the batsmen played to their potential. While you don’t expect everyone to play everyone, what you do expect from champion teams is 2-3 players among the top 10 run-getters. This was certainly missing among CSK in IPL 2019.
In IPL 2020, we should expect the top-3 to take more responsibility with number 4-6 playing good knocks at crucial juncture. Also, there is less dependency on MS Dhoni, the batsman.
So, these are the key areas Chennai Super Kings (CSK) need to focus on to win IPL 2020.
Thanks for reading, guys!
ALSO READ: IPL 2019: Chennai Super Kings Team Rating
Adesh Kothari is the founder of AK4Tsay1 Cricalytics.
Cricket to him is like what ‘Football is to Lionel Messi’, ‘Singing is to Lata Mangeshkar’, ‘Dancing is to Michael Jackson’, and what ‘Acting is to Clint Eastwood’.
Besides his effervescent love for Cricket, Adesh is an MBA by qualification.
