Shaun Pollock feels CSK must give Robin Uthappa a chance in place of 'out of touch' Suresh Raina

Former South Africa pacer Shaun Pollock fees that Chennai Super Kings need to consider Robin Uthappa at Suresh Raina’s spot. Raina, the third-leading scorer in IPL history, has endured an unusual slump of form in the league this year, having scored merely 160 runs in 11 innings at a dismal average of 17.77, with only a single half-century.

Not known for tinkering their playing combinations too much, CSK have continued to persist with Raina, however, a big score has remained elusive for the southpaw. Meanwhile, a veteran of 189 IPL games and 3544 runs, Uthappa has continued to warm the benches throughout the 2021 season.

“I wonder if they will give Robin Uthappa a chance. CSK are a team that doesn’t like to make big changes. The longer it goes on, the more you feel they can’t make a change for the knockouts unless they make it sooner or later. I’m sure he will be keen to have a go. But if they keep winning, they will want everyone firing,” Pollock told Cricbuzz.

Meanwhile, batting has not been the only area of concern for Raina, who has not looked at his former best in the field too. Raina bid adieu to international cricket in 2020 but he last played at the level in 2018, while he pulled out of the 2020 IPL owing to personal reasons. That has meant no game time for the 34-year-old at the professional level for a considerable amount of time, which has shown in this edition as Raina has not looked as agile as before.

“He hasn’t been able to find his touch. He looks like he might be carrying a bit of a niggle, he doesn’t look that pacey, that’s what we are so used to – brilliant fielding over the years, contributing with his off-spin and smashing the ball out of the ground; we haven’t seen that. No surprise that they promoted him to No.3; that was in a bid to get him some form under the belt,” Pollock added.

Chennai Super Kings have qualified for the playoffs but got their winning streak of four matches in the UAE halted with a seven-wicket loss against Rajasthan Royals on October 2. They play Delhi Capitals on October 4.