Chennai Super Kings fans were shocked when their beloved captain cool Mahendra Singh Dhoni decided to step down from the team’s captaincy right before the start of the tournament.
In the opening match of the IPL 2022, Kolkata Knight Rider (KKR) beat Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by six wickets. Dhoni remains a crucial player to the CSK team, as the 40-year-old scored a half-century in 38 balls and tried to steer his team to a respectable total of 131 in 20 overs. However, KKR had no trouble chasing the target and achieved it with nine balls remaining.
At times, the new captain Ravindra Jadeja looked clueless while leading the team and had trouble switching between his bowlers as KKR kept the scoreboard ticking. However, judging a player like Jadeja and a team like CSK over just one match is not fair.
The Chennai Super Kings squad 2022:
Ravindra Jadeja (Captain), MS Dhoni (wk), Moeen Ali, Robin Uthappa, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Chris Jordan, Moeen Ali, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Maheesh Theekshana, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Mukesh Choudhary, Mitchell Santner.
Strengths
The CSK bench strength is quite strong, with match-winners like Dhoni, Jadeja, and Bravo in the squad. As a result, the team will not face inexperience during tight matches in the tournament. Dhoni is known for his calm demeanour, while Jaddu is fearless and has handled his squad well during tough games. Adding more to this, Dwayne Bravo is one of the most intelligent players in the squad and has proved his mantle many times during the last overs.
Weaknesses
Despite such an experienced line-up, the CSK management must realize that many key players like Dhoni, Bravo, and Rayudu are above age 35. Therefore, the management needs to focus on the current batch of young players and slowly allow them the opportunity to grow under the big wigs. However, Jadeja’s inexperience in captaincy was visible during the first game.
Opportunities
IPL presents youngsters with immense opportunities to prove themselves and become a part of the Indian national team. Players like Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, and many more found their way into the national squad through impressive performances in the IPL. Also, With Rohit Sharma touching almost 35 years, BCCI is looking for a younger player to lead the Indian side in the future. If Jadeja shows his captaincy skills by successfully managing the CSK camp well, he could become a future contender for the captaincy of the Indian Cricket Team.
CSK’s IPL 2022 Journey Until now
The journey for the CSK camp under the new captain has not been smooth, and the team has lost all three matches it has played. Starting with the IPL opener against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), followed by another setback by the new franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Despite the team making a total of 210 runs, the Chennai bowlers looked clueless against the LSG batsman, and the new franchise won the match by six wickets. It is the first time since the IPL that the team has lost two consecutive opening matches. In the third match against Punjab Kings (PBKS), PBKS managed to win the match by 54 runs as no team batsman could withstand the Punjab bowling attack.
