Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja's batting could be the final piece in CSK's IPL jigsaw
Since the 2021 edition of the IPL, when Moeen Ali was acquired by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the all-rounder has been seen as pivotal to the franchise’s hopes. Ravindra Jadeja, meanwhile, has enjoyed that sort of stature since the early 2010s, even being CSK’s first retention ahead of the 2022 campaign.
What makes both of these cricketers a must-have in any side is their ability to contribute in different facets. Jadeja, apart from being a left-arm spinner who can rattle through the middle overs and pick up crucial wickets, is arguably the best fielder on the planet.
Moeen, meanwhile, can extract sharp turn, deceive batters in the air and be just as destructive with the willow. In a T20 landscape where ‘three-dimensional cricketers’ has perhaps become an overused term, these two epitomize that to the tee.
Thus, it has not been surprising that both have played crucial roles in CSK currently occupying the second spot in the points table. Moeen has a Player of the Match award – an award he picked up in a high-scoring thriller against the Lucknow Super Giants at Chepauk, and has picked up nine wickets at an average of 21.5 and a strike rate of 17.33.
Jadeja, on the other hand, has won the Player of the Match award thrice – twice at home and once against the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium. In 13 games, he has taken 16 wickets, which, by the way, is his second-best wicket-tally in the IPL ever.
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Most teams in the IPL would give an arm and a leg (and maybe crores) to have the duo on their side. But Jadeja and Moeen are such match-winners that even this does not feel enough.
Maybe they are victims of their own brilliance, but also because CSK, ever since the pair have featured in tandem, have built a lot of success around them.
Jadeja and Moeen are yet to get going with the bat for CSK
While both have contributed handsomely on the bowling front, the pair’s lack of runs has stood out. Neither has crossed the 200-run mark yet and while Jadeja does not often get to bat long, his strike rate of 127.88 is not very inspiring.
Similarly, Moeen has not been able to get going, with his footwork, in particular, looking scratchier than usual. Over the years, he has primarily been used by CSK to dominate the middle phase.
Thankfully for CSK, Shivam Dube has taken to that role like a duck to water, meaning that they have not exactly been rid of momentum. But if Moeen were to come to the party as well, it would force opposition captains to think out of the box, for his range of strokes is as expansive as any batter in the CSK camp.
The quandary with Jadeja is slightly more complicated. He missed a chunk of last season owing to an injury and then suffered a serious knee injury at the Asia Cup in September 2022. That ruled him out for several months before he made his return in India’s 2-1 Border-Gavaskar Trophy triumph over Australia in February and March.
He was the Player of the Series and did illustrate that he had not missed a beat. His first innings in that series, especially on a turner at Nagpur, was also quite brilliant, allowing India a sizeable first-innings lead to close out a win inside three days.
T20 batting, though, is slightly different and Jadeja seems to be just a little rusty on that count. He has not looked out of sorts so far this season but the boundaries have not flowed either.
That has not hurt CSK as drastically as last season, for MS Dhoni has been in stunning hitting form. But if Jadeja were to spend more time in the middle and find his groove as well, CSK’s death-batting stocks would burst through the roof.
In 2021, when CSK last won the IPL, both Jadeja and Moeen played stellar roles with the bat. Jadeja struck at more than 145 (145.51) and regularly produced cameos that either took the four-time winners past the finish line or helped them post an above-par total.
Moeen marshaled the middle overs beautifully in that campaign. He struck at 137.3 and mustered more than 350 runs, comfortably his highest run-tally ever in the IPL.
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This season, CSK have been defeated five times. In four of those (barring the Punjab Kings match at home), their middle order struggled to get going. In simpler words, there was a significant gap between their top four’s foundation and Dhoni’s finishing act.
These gaps, if Jadeja and Moeen hit top batting gear, would disappear, and that is why the duo returning to form is so crucial for CSK.
Even if they do not quite scale the batting peaks they are capable of, they would have enjoyed decent seasons personally. Neither you feel would be content with just contributing in one (or two) dimension(s), though.
They are proper all-rounders, and some would argue two of the best in the business. When they have had the ball in their hands, they have built on that reputation and hype. With the bat, they still have a little bit of work to do.
From CSK's point of view, this could also be the missing piece in their IPL jigsaw this season. They have, of course, not been as indomitable as they have been in seasons gone by. But a middle order, consisting of Jadeja and Moeen would take them as close to batting perfection as they could hope for.
Both are experienced. Both have played on the big occasion before. So, the moment is crying out for these two premier all-rounders to seize it.
They have done it in the past, but CSK, Jadeja, and Moeen would want to do it in 2023, all over again.