The IPL mega auction 2022 had given an excellent opportunity of refabrication to all franchisees, and CSK had bang onto the golden chance of squad restructuring for the upcoming few seasons. Although Chennai Super Kings have kept their bunch of core players unchanged, now they have more options in the batting order to make it more dynamic. They bought star players like Kiwi opener Devon Conway, flamboyant all-rounder Shivam Dube, wiki- batter N Jagadeesan, etc.
You can find here the top run scorers for CSK in the tournament history.
Now, CSK has a solid batting order compared to the previous year, especially the opening pair. With the presence of Indian pedigree in the batting with few overseas strikers like the man in form Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Devon Conway & Moeen Ali, now CSK can step in with a plethora of opening duplets according to the playing conditions of varied venues.
Let’s try to gauge three possible Opening pairs for CSK in this season of IPL.
1) Ruturaj Gaikwad – Robin Uthappa
The most likely opening pair for Chennai Super Kings would be Ruturaj G – Robin U; both Indian batters played some fantastic knocks for Chennai in the last phase of the IPL 2021. Ruturaj Gaikwad is in phenomenal touch in domestic cricket, and if he stays fit for the whole tournament as he had a lot of fitness concerns in the past, he will be the permanent guy in the opening slot for Chennai. Ruturaj Gaikwad played 16 matches last year for CSK and scored 635 with an average of 39.70, while Robin Uthappa played only four matches in the previous season, but he showed a good batting display in that.
2) Ruturaj Gaikwad – Devon Conway
If Robin Uthappa faces form or fitness-related issues, Devon Conway could be an opener for Chennai. He will probably replace an overseas slot of Mitchell Santner if he comes in the playing xi, the star New Zealand batter is auditioning this year in the IPL. But he is a well-grounded opener for NZ in T20Is, where he scored 602 runs in 20 matches with a superb average of 50.2, reflecting his consistency in the topmost position of the batting line-up. Though the conditions in Mumbai & Pune are different, he is well capable of tackling such adversities.
3) Ruturaj Gaikwad – Moeen Ali
Moeen Ali can provide that aggressive firepower initially, which is missing for Chennai in the prior seasons of IPL. The gameplay of aggressive intent is on display from Moeen Ali, while he batted at number three positions. He scored 350+ runs in 15 matches with a brisk strike rate of 140.35. This could happen in this season if the team management opts for Robin Uthappa to play at the same middle-order position and promote Moeen Ali in the opening slot. The young gun Ruturaj Gaikwad along with Stobart & experience Moeen Ali, can do wonders for Chennai in the batting with their blades
