IPL 2018 Transfer Window: 5 players CSK will target

The organisers of the Indian Premier League (IPL) have introduced some interesting changes this season which has been welcomed by many. While the Decision Review System (DRS) is reaping a lot of rewards to correct the howlers from the on-field umpires, the concept of transfer window during the tournament has increased the excitement among the fans. It will be implemented for the first time in the history of cricket and the idea has come from football leagues where the players are allowed to join the other team mid-season.

But in IPL there is a criterion to transfer the players to other teams during this window. Only uncapped players and the capped players who have played 2 or fewer matches until the halfway stage of the tournament could join the other team. It will be interesting to see the way the teams make use of this facility available to them and most importantly they would look to fill in the major flaws in the squad so far.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have been clinical so far in their comeback season with 4 wins under their belt after 5 matches. But they have mostly struggled with the ball and had to lose some of their key players due to injuries. Also, South African pace bowler Lungi Ngidi had to leave the team after his father passed away last week. They are surely thin on the bowling front and would be looking to bag the services of some of the exciting players during the transfer window.

Here we look at 5 players whom they will be targetting:

1. JP Duminy (Mumbai Indians)

JP Duminy was bagged by Mumbai Indians during the auction at his base price of Rs 1 Crore. He has played only two games for the franchise thus far. He has no place with the likes of Evin Lewis and Kieron Pollard already in the side as proper batsmen. While it seems that there is no chance for him to feature for Mumbai, CSK can perfectly make his use in the batting line-up.

Though the top 6 of their batsmen are doing more than a decent job so far, they all are the right-handed batsmen. A left-hander in the middle-order will make a lot of difference for them as the tournament goes deep. JP Duminy is the perfect batsman whom they need badly and might play at 4 or 5 according to the situation. His style of batting can disturb the line and lengths of the bowlers and the team can take advantage of the same and score more runs in the death overs.

2. Sandeep Lamichhane (Delhi Daredevils)

Sandeep Lamichhane became the first player from Nepal to be picked in the IPL auction but he is yet to make his debut this season. It is baffling to understand why Delhi haven’t used the mystery spinner so far as Kings XI Punjab have included their X-factor Mujeeb Zadran since the first match of the season. It might be better of him changing his team and get a lot of confidence by playing on the field.

While CSK have the spinners like Karn Sharma and Imran Tahir, they lack some mystery in their squad. The inclusion of Sandeep will help them big time and the 17-year-old will be more than happy to play under MS Dhoni. The Men in Yellow are known to spring surprises and no wonder why can’t they try picking this wonder kid from Nepal. Though it would be interesting to see if Daredevils would want to release him.

3. Basil Thampi (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

Basil Thampi rose to fame last year while playing under Suresh Raina for Gujarat Lions. His ability to bowl pinpoint yorkers at pace forced everyone to take notice of him. The youngster is currently in Sunrisers Hyderabad camp who have bagged the plethora of Indian bowlers in their squad this time around. While they have opted for Sandeep Sharma as the replacement bowler for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, it is unlikely that he will play any part for them going ahead in the tournament.

Thampi is the best answer for all the death overs troubles of CSK. Currently, the team is struggling to keep a lid on the batsmen in the final five overs and all the pressure is coming on Dwayne Bravo with Shardul Thakur failing to nail his slower balls and yorkers. He is expensive at times but Thampi will only improve if he plays more matches instead of warming the bench for SRH. It would be unfair on him if he doesn’t contribute to any team’s cause this season.

4. Khaleel Ahmed (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

SRH have bagged the services of a lot of Indian domestic bowlers and now have benched them which is not good for the confidence of these young players. It is important that they get enough amount of exposure and correct their mistakes as early as possible. Khaleel was bought for a whopping amount of Rs 3 Crores by the franchise in the auction. The youngster had impressed many in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and grabbed eyeballs with his performances.

Chennai Super Kings have an option of picking Khaleel in their squad as he can bring variation in their one-dimensional bowling line-up. He is a left-arm pace bowler and can create troubles for the batsmen with the angle he creates. Even though they have David Willey in their ranks, having an Indian bowler of similar skills will always help as he has more chances to play. CSK’s bowling attack will surely beef up with some pace and variations if Khaleel enters the squad.

5. Abhishek Sharma (Delhi Daredevils)

The crucial member of India’s U19 World Cup winning side this year Abhishek Sharma was picked by Delhi franchise for Rs 55 Lakhs in the auction. The 17-year-old is an impressive all-rounder who did impeccably well in the U19 World Cup earlier this year. Given Delhi’s position in the ongoing season, he might not get a chance to showcase his talent. It is only fair to him that the Abhishek finds a team who needs him badly.

Ravindra Jadeja is struggling big time this year and his role in the team is being questioned by many ever since the tournament has started. Even his bowling has faded and Abhishek seems to be a perfect and exciting replacement. The team is in good space right now and he might be given a go at least in a few games before playoffs. He slow left-arm bowling is deceptive and can fox the batsmen ant day and he can score crucial runs coming down the order with the bat exactly what Jadeja is doing currently. It is better to invest in a youngster for this role.

*Disclaimer: These are the players’ teams would’ve liked to add with the transfer window. However, the rule is that only uncapped players who have played maximum two matches after 7 matches will be eligible for transfer.

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