IPL: 3 Players who can replace Sam Billings at Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

With the trade window for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League closing soon, the franchises have made several important announcements in the past few days. Apart from the trades that took place, the reports also emerged that the franchises have all but finalized their list of players whom they wish to release before the auction.

While there is still some time left for the deadline, the three-time champions Chennai Super Kings – CSK have announced the release of the English wicketkeeper-batsman, Sam Billings from their squad. The 28-year-old from England had played only one match for Chennai in IPL 2019 as MS Dhoni’s presence and his fitness issues kept him out of the playing XI.

Since Billings’ release has opened up a crucial overseas spot in the Chennai squad, the team management will try to buy a like-for-like replacement for the Kent-based player. Here are the 3 players who replace him in CSK’s squad for IPL 2020.

1. Alex Carey

Australian wicketkeeper-batsman, Alex Carey has become the team’s first-choice wicketkeeper in the limited-overs fixtures. He has played 25 T20Is for Australia, scoring 125 runs at a strike rate of 123.74.

The Loxton-born player has smashed 10 fours and 4 sixes in his brief international career. Carey also has an impressive record in the T20 format where he has aggregated 1,182 runs in 60 games at an impressive average of 31.10.

Since he is the vice-captain of the Australian side, the 28-year-old can even help the Chennai Super Kings’ think tank in taking some decisions. Besides, not many franchises would after him in the auction hence, Chennai could steal the left-handed batsman at a cheap price.

2. Glenn Phillips

New Zealand’s 22-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman, Glenn Phillips will prove to be a hot commodity in the 2020 IPL auction as he had drawn everyone’s attention towards him during the Caribbean Premier League.

Playing for the Jamaica Tallawahs, the East London-born player had scored 374 runs in just 10 matches at a fantastic average of 37.40. He had a strike rate of 144.96 while he even smashed 42 fours and 15 maximums in the tourney. Philips is a T20 specialist and the fact that the right-handed batsman has struck two centuries in the shortest form of the game solidifies the aforementioned statement.

Unlike Alex Carey, Phillips will be on the wish-list of many franchises thus, Chennai Super Kings will find it tough to buy him in the auction. The fans can expect Philips to emerge as one of the costliest overseas purchases of this year’s auction.

3. Tom Banton

A few days ago, the reports had emerged that the two most successful franchises of IPL, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have shown interest in signing Tom Banton up for IPL 2020. Now that the MS Dhoni-led outfit has ended their association with Sam Billings, the team management has clarified that they will hunt for Banton on 19th December.

The 21-year-old Englishman recently made his international debut after having a dream season for Somerset in the T20 Blast. The wicket-keeper batsman can solve the problem of the opening partnership at Chennai as the team’s primary openers had struggled in the previous season.

Banton is set to receive a mega IPL contract this year and the cricket universe should not be surprised if the Chennai Super Kings grab him in the auction.