IPL 2022: 5 Openers CSK can target in mega auction

It’s just the start of another beautiful cricketing year and the IPL fever has already begun with 2022 player auction to be held on the 12th &13th of February in Bangalore. Around 590 players are set to go under the hammer- 370 Indian players and 220 foreign players.

Let’s have a look at the possible opening options the “Defending Champions” Chennai Super Kings can eye in this magnum-opus 2022 player auction. There is a high possibility that this could potentially be the last mega auction in this league, at least for the next 5-7 years.

5 Batters CSK can target in mega auction

1. Faf du Plessis

The first player who comes to mind when we associate opening batting and CSK would definitely be this talented South African batter. Faf du Plessis has been part of the CSK since 2012. The 37-year-old has been in the form of his life in the past couple of years. Although being ignored by the South-African selection board, he continued to impress the fans with his stellar performance in the last 2 seasons of the IPL.

In the 2020 edition, where CSK didn’t reach the playoffs for the first time in their history, he was one among the few bright spots in that journey. In the 13 matches, he scored 449 runs at an average of 40.81 and at a strike rate of 140.75. Faf bettered his performance in 2021 where he amassed 633 runs at an average of 45.21 and at a strike rate of 138.20.

He lost the orange cap to his fellow opening partner Ruturaj Gaikwad by just 2 runs. Faf also has a good record in Chennai but his strike rate and average drop a bit from his career SR and average. But the silver lining is that Faf has a lesser dot ball percentage in Chennai, where the dimension is a bit big so it involves a lot of 1s and 2s.

The SA batter also adds great value in the field with his exciting fielding skills. When looking into numbers, Faf would be a favorite and a definite pick in most of the franchises but the only number stacked against him is `37`. Age would be a definite factor for consideration since they are looking to build a team for the future. There is no doubt that CSK would be going for Faf and it would be really exciting to see the Faf-Gaikwad pair one more time.

2. David Warner

David Warner had a forgettable outing in the 2021 IPL, where he was struggling to middle a single ball. A month later, he showed the world and the SRH management what a quality player he was being the leading run-scorer for Australia and also the Man of the series in their T20 WC winning campaign.

The 35-year-old has had an exceptional record in the past seasons. Since 2014, Warner has scored the most number of runs in the IPL in spite of a poor last season. If he is raring and all ready for a comeback, there is no better place to be for comebacks than in CSK.

David Warner’s stats in Chennai and Maharashtra don’t seem intimidating and there is a major problem with his dot ball being 39.7 and 41.1 percentage respectively, but when he is on a song like in the 2019 and the 2020 edition, his dot ball % dropped to 29.1 and 33.4 respectively.

Warner would be a great fit in the CSK batting order and would form a formidable opening combination with Ruturaj Gaikwad. It would be very interesting to see how CSK goes out for Warner since he is a hot property and a captaincy material as well, so, most of the teams would be going hard for him in the auction and is expected to go for more than 10 Crores.

3. Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan has been in the form of his life, which started with the 2020 edition of the IPL. Shikhar has been a complete warhorse for whichever team he has been part of, be it Sunrisers Hyderabad or the Delhi Capitals. He scored 587 runs at an average of 39.1 with a strike rate of 124.62 in IPL 2021.

There has been a lot of criticism surrounding Dhawan of his conservative approach at the start and then accelerating when he is set, but this pattern has completely worked for him in being consistent.

Having a left-hander at the top of the order always helps. There are many teams that require stability at the top of the order and Shikhar would be the right candidate for that role. CSK would try to rope in Dhawan’s services at a 6-8 Crore price bracket.

4. Ishan Kishan

This 23-year-old has been a revelation for the Mumbai Indians for the past few seasons. The past year has been a topsy turvy ride for him as he made a stellar T20I debut for India with a cracking 50 but has been on a downhill ride since then. He lost his place to Saurabh Tiwary in the MI setup and is also in and out of the Indian side.

Ishan would be waiting to prove his mettle this IPL 2022. Ishan has a career SR of 136.3, which would be a great fit to get the team a flying start so that the likes of Moeen, Ruturaj, and MS can bat around him.

The Jharkhand-boy would be excited to play under his city idol, MSD, but CSK would find it very hard to get Ishan since Mumbai will fight hard to bring him back to the setup.

5. Aiden Markram

Consider a situation wherein Faf Du Plessis is bought by another franchise or say they are looking towards the future, then the 27-year-old South African batter would be the ideal candidate for that position. Aiden Markram set the World T20 2021 on fire with his aggression and tremendous shot selection but had a middling 2021 IPL season.

Markram hasn’t played in India, his performance still remains to be seen. The wickets in Chennai and Mumbai would suit his style since he is quick between the wickets (Strike rotation- less dot percentage) and also has the power game to back it up. He also offers some part-time off-break and is also a gun fielder. It would be interesting to see if CSK goes for this star batter.

This mega auction is important for all the franchises, but more so for the Chennai Super Kings since they are in a transition phase to build a team for the next 5-7 years without Dhoni as a captain/player. It remains to be seen if CSK bid for any of these above players, it would be a great addition to the team if they manage to pick up any of these 5 players.

Written by- Jaamie Marsh