Chennai Super Kings who are the defending champions will be looking to win back-to-back titles as their captain MS Dhoni will be back in action after six months. Before the IPL Auction, CSK decided to make four retentions which were Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali, and Ruturaj Gaikwad. They had a purse of 48 CR going into the Auction and they have managed to assemble a great squad after two hard days of work on February 12 and 13.
CSK’s main strategy was to get most of their old players and they managed to get back 8 out of the 11 players who played the IPL 2021 Final. They spent 14 CR for their premium seamer – Deepak Chahar in the auction. They have got a great mix of 8 overseas players and it won’t be easy for them to choose four out of them. So, let us have a look at who could those four overseas players be for CSK in IPL 2022.
1. Devon Conway
Chennai Super Kings failed to get back their prolific run-scorer Faf Du Plessis as RCB bought him for 7 CR. CSK has a few Indian options who can open with Ruturaj Gaikwad but they generally like at least one overseas opener at the top and so Devon Conway would be one of the four overseas players for CSK.
Conway has played 20 T20I matches and has scored 602 runs at an average of 50.17 and a strike rate of 139.35. Being a left-hander, he will be a perfect partner for Ruturaj Gaikwad. This will be Conway’s first IPL season and it would be interesting to see how he copes up with the pressure.
2. Moeen Ali
Moeen Ali who was retained at 8 CR will surely be one of the four overseas players for CSK. Ali had a great season last year and now he has retired from Test cricket so he is focusing purely on white-ball cricket. In the last season, Ali scored more than 350 runs at a strike rate of 137.30. He played those useful cameos, coming in at No.3 or 4.
Apart from that his off-spin bowling came in handy as MS Dhoni used him perfectly against some match-ups. He picked up 6 wickets and had an economy rate of just 6.35. He is a great spin-hitter and CSK fans will be hoping that he has another great season in yellow.
3. Dwayne Bravo
Despite not being retained Dwayne Bravo is back with the Chennai Super Kings as they bought him for 4.4 CR in the Auction. If he is fit then he will be one of the four overseas players for CSK. While age is not on his side, he can still offer something in the shortest format.
He has retired from T20Is and so he should be fresh coming into the IPL. Even in the last season, he picked up 14 wickets in just 11 matches. MS Dhoni knows how to use Dwayne Bravo and so he will surely deliver for CSK in the death overs in IPL 2022.
4. Adam Milne
Over the last three years, CSK has looked to go in with one overseas pacer along with the two Indians (Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur). Last year they found a great one in Josh Hazlewood, who was brilliant in the second half. They couldn’t get him back as RCB got him for 7.75 CR.
Having said that, they have got Adam Milne and Chris Jordan as options and Milne should be the first-choice player. Even though Milne hasn’t performed well in the IPL he was fantastic in the Hundred and has done well at the international level. More than the CSK fans, Milne will be excited to play for CSK and under the captain MS Dhoni in the IPL.
