IPL 2014: Chennai Super Kings' road to redemption

Dwayne Bravo’s injury is a blessing in disguise

It is not often that you score 200+ in a T20 and still lose the game. Chennai Super Kings did exactly that yesterday on a placid wicket in Abu Dhabi, and they have only themselves to blame for shooting themselves on the foot with some shocking bowling and fielding.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s strategies were also a bit puzzling. The Super Kings have a strong batting line-up as it is, and, with all the four overseas slots also given to the batsmen, it spelled doom. With this strategy, it demands that Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja bowl well, and, if even one of them has an off day as Jadeja had yesterday, it leads to disaster.

But, for me, the most puzzling decision that Dhoni took was to play Dwayne Bravo as a pure batsman. In the IPL, the 4 foreigners slots are like jewels, and they need to be used judiciously. Bravo played only three balls, while Faf du Plessis and Jadeja didn’t bat at all. With an embarrassment of batting riches, a few of them are bound to not get a hit.

The Super Kings management needs to realize that it is a good bowling side that wins you tournaments. Ashish Nehra, well, what more can we say about The Ashish, inconsistent with the ball and consistently poor on the field. Mohit Sharma had a mediocre game against Punjab, and Pawan Negi is too inexperienced to be considered a front-line bowling option.

With such a poor display from the bowlers, I think it is high time the think-tank looks towards playing someone like a Samuel Badree. Badree is the world’s No. 1 T20 bowler, and it is absolutely essential that Dhoni plays him in the next game against Delhi Daredevils.

Ashwin started off well in the previous game but couldn’t control the Maxwell onslaught. He is bowling much slower through the air these days, and that is helping him immensely with his deception being a crucial factor now.

Dhoni needs to improvise as a captain. Far too often, he has been found wanting when batsmen have been aggressive against his team. I was dumbfounded by the fact that Suresh Raina didn’t bowl in the last game, especially after he did so well with the ball in the World T20.

For CSK to succeed in this tournament, it is imperative that they get the balance of their side right, and, if that means dropping one of the four overseas batting stars to the bench, so be it. And that is why this injury to Dwayne Bravo might well prove to be a blessing in disguise. Bravo is expected to miss the next game, and Dhoni should bring in Badree for Bravo. Ishwar Pandey must also get a game, with the bowling unit seemingly very light on resources.

An alternate route might be to replace Bravo with Baba Aparajith and play Badree in place of Negi. Aparajith is one of the promising young stars of Indian cricket, and I personally rate him very highly. As I said in my previous article, Aparajith can essay the role that Subramaniam Badrinath played. At the moment, Chennai’s batting is full of big hitters, but there is no one there to steady the ship should there be a quick fall of wickets. But, with the pitches in Abu Dhabi assisting pace bowling under lights, I hope CSK go the first route with Pandey and Badree replacing Negi and Bravo.

Also, another huge problem for CSK against Punjab was their fielding. They dropped three catches, and Glenn Maxwell punished them for their follies. With the likes of Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis and Ravindra Jadeja, CSK have a brilliant fielding unit, but they also have The Ashish. Nehra has always been a puzzle for the followers of Indian cricket. He is consistently poor on the field and has showed no intention of trying to improve on that aspect of his game. Nehra is slow, lethargic and does not possess the strong arm that most fast bowlers do.

“Badree. Badree. Badree.” That must be the cry from all of us CSK fans as the Men in Yellow look to bounce back from a disappointing first outing. Here’s hoping that the next time I write, we’d have opened our account on the IPL Points Table.

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