Defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) under the leadership of veteran player MS Dhoni will look to emulate their performance in the upcoming 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL). Coming into the tournament CSK have a strong group of core members including Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Deepak Chahar.
However one of the issues, which the franchise will need to address is to finalize their four overseas players. The yellow army had purchased some prominent overseas player in the mega auction including Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Chris Jordan, Maheesh Theekshana, Dwaine Pretorius and Dwayne Bravo. While, Moeen Ali was retained by the franchise and is likely to walk into the playing 11. Here’s a prediction of CSK starting four overseas players:
1. Moeen Ali
Moeen Ali has been a different player since his arrival in the CSK squad. The batter has played some swashbuckling knocks for the franchise, while he has also played a crucial role in the bowling department as well. As a result, CSK spent INR eight crore on the English allrounder to retain him. The 34-year old has played 34 IPL matches in which he has scored 666 runs at a staggering strike rate of 146.37.
2. Dwayne Bravo
The second overseas player on the list is veteran allrounder Dwayne Bravo who was purchased back by the yellow army at a price of INR 4.40 crore. The 38-year allrounder has been an integral part of the CSK squad for past many years. Known for his hard hitting abilities and death bowling, Bravo has scored 1,537 runs and has scalped 167 wickets in 151 IPL matches he has played.
3. Devon Conway
After the exit of their long standing opener Faf du Plesis, CSK managed to bag left-handed batter Devon Conway as a like to like replacement. Conway who has shown his mettle at the international level, is likely to be the top choice to open the innings alongside Gaikwad.
The kiwi has had a dream start to his international career, including in T20Is, where he averages 50.16 after 20 games. The batter has scored 602 runs with a strike rate of 139.35.The 30-year old batter also has highest score of 99 runs which came against Australia last year in February.
4. Adam Milne
New Zealand express pacer Adam Milne will look to fill the void of pacer Josh Hazlewood who played an instrumental role for the franchise in the past seasons. Milne, who has also been a part of Mumbai Indians camp in the past has little bit of experience playing in the IPL.
The right-arm pacer has participated in nine IPL matches and has taken a total of seven wickets in the process. His records might not be exciting, but the bowler can easily clock 140kmh which makes him a better suited option as compared to any other overseas bowler in the CSK camp.
