IPL 2020: 3 Players who can replace Kedar Jadhav in CSK line-up

The 21st match of the ongoing 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) witnessed a thrilling encounter between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Abu Dhabi. Beating CSK by 10 runs, KKR ensured their third win of the season and reached the third position on the points table. Chasing a target of 168 runs posted by KKR on the board, Super Kings fancied winning as they needed 67 runs off 42 balls with nine wickets in hand at one stage.

However, the team soon collapsed as in-form Shane Watson went back to pavilion after scoring a half-century. Shane’s dismissal triggered CSK’s downfall as MS Dhoni got out after scoring a below par 11 (12) followed by Sam Curran (17 off 11). Despite the fall of wickets, Super Kings had an opportunity to win the match as they needed to score 39 in 21 balls.

But Kedar Jadhav struggled to middle the ball and crawled to an unbeaten 7 off 12 balls which led to the team’s defeat. Having scored 58 runs at an average and strike rate of 19.33 and 98.30 respectively in four IPL 2020 innings so far, Jadhav has found it difficult to score runs throughout the season. Therefore, there is a possibility that the 35-year-old, who joined CSK in 2018, will have to warm the bench for the rest of the season.

Here we bring you 3 players who can replace Kedar Jadhav in the CSK XI:

1. Murali Vijay

Chennai-born Murali Vijay can be considered as a good replacement for Kedar Jadhav. Though Vijay was given a place in the CSK squad as an opener in the first three games of the tournament, his performance was not impressive as he flattered, scoring 32 off 3 matches, which led to his exit from playing XI. However, the Captain Cool can give another chance to the swashbuckling batsman as Vijay is backed by sensational IPL records.

He was a vital cog in CSK’s batting line-up in early years of glory, smashing two centuries and maintaining a strike-rate close to 120. In 106 IPL games played so far, the 36-year-old has garnered 2,619 runs at a strike rate of 121.9 and average of 25.9.

Thus, Dhoni can prefer to bring back the Tamil Nadu batsman in the opening slot of the batting order. This means that the South African great Faf du Plessis will have to play at the third position on the batting line-up and Jadhav will be out of the playing XI.

2. Ruturaj Gaikwad

The debutant Ruturaj Gaikwad failed to impress the captain and the team management with his performance in IPL 2020, which resulted in him being dropped from the playing XI. In his debut match, the 23-year-old got out for a duck while in the second match he could score only 5 off 10 balls.

However, with Jadhav being out of the form, MS Dhoni can experiment in the Playing XI by bringing Ruturaj in the opening slot. This move can prove beneficial for the Yellow Army as Ruturaj is an opening batsman and has stellar records in the domestic circuit as an opener.

In 30 T20 matches played, Gaikwad has amassed 848 runs at the average and strike rate of 31.4 and 133.8 respectively. With the Pune Stalwart opening the innings for CSK contingent with Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis can come to bat at one down.

3. Narayan Jagadeesan

The wicketkeeper-batsman Narayan Jagadeesan joined the CSK contingent in 2018 but is yet to make his IPL debut. In the absence of their vital batsman Suresh Raina and the poor form of Kedar Jadhav, the management can turn to Jagadeesan to provide a balance to the playing XI.

The wicketkeeper-batsman made his debut in the domestic circuit in 2016 and has been collecting a lot of runs in his kitty since then. Playing for Tamil Nadu, Narayan has garnered 305 runs in 22 T20 matches at a strike rate of 111.7 and average of 23.5.

He has also featured in 23 List A matches scoring 790 runs at an average of 34.3 and strike rate of 84.1. Bringing in Narayan Jagadeesan at one down or two down can provide the required stability to CSK’s batting line-up.