Three key reasons for Chennai’s misery in Indian T20 League 2022
Chennai Super Kings: (Image Source: BCCI/IPL)
Chennai is the second most successful franchise in the history of the Indian T20 League. The franchise has been around since the inception of the league and played all the seasons under the leadership of MS Dhoni. They have four titles to their name.
However, prior to the start of the ongoing edition of the Indian T20 League, MS Dhoni handed over the leadership duties to Ravindra Jadeja. Chennai have endured a horrendous season this year. They are currently sitting at second from the bottom of the points table and Ravindra Jadeja has handed the captaincy duties back to MS Dhoni. The franchise currently has 3 wins in 10 matches and, their chances of reaching the top four are all but over.
In this article, we take a look at three key reasons for Chennai’s misery in the Indian T20 League 2022:
- Deepak Chahar’s injury prior to the start of the season
The franchise bought Deepak Chahar’s services for a whopping amount of INR 14 crores at the Indian T20 League 2022 Mega-Auction. Chahar has been a vital cog in Chennai’s franchise and his presence makes a world of difference to the team’s fortune.
However, he was ruled out for the major chunk of the Indian T20 League 2022 as he got injured while playing for Team India against West Indies. Later, a back injury during the rehab period meant he was ruled out for the complete season of the Indian T20 League.
The absence of an experienced Indian fast bowler has hurt Chennai badly in the ongoing season. Chahar is brilliant in the power-play as well as death overs and his presence could have turned the fortunes around for the team.
- Handing over the captaincy to Ravindra Jadeja
Prior to the start of the season, MS Dhoni handed over the captaincy duties to Ravindra Jadeja. It didn’t turn out to be a great decision as the Indian all-rounder couldn’t make the right decisions at crucial stages in the game. Add to that, the captaincy pressure also had a severe effect on his personal performance. Jadeja didn’t have a great Indian T20 League 2022 season with bat or ball. In 10 matches, he could only manage to score 116 runs at an average of 19.33. With the ball, he has 5 wickets at 49.60.
- Openers not getting the team off to solid starts:
Chennai played their first match with Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad as openers. Both failed in their first game and Robin Uthappa was promoted to open with Gaikwad. However, the duo failed to give solid starts at the top of the order and laid the foundation for big scores, something which du Plessis and Gaikwad did consistently last year.
Gaikwad played a 99-run knock against Hyderabad and shared a record 182-run opening partnership with Devon Conway. But that came in Chennai’s ninth match. Gaikwad couldn’t do it consistently and that has led to Chennai’s undoing.
