"I feel he has to be in the side" - Former NZ coach Glenn Pocknall on Devon Conway's role for CSK

Former New Zealand coach Glenn Pocknall has had many students during his time at the Wellington Firebirds, and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opener Devon Conway is one of them. He has seen Conway grow from someone trying to establish himself in New Zealand's domestic cricket to becoming an undroppable part of the national team.

Conway played just seven games in the IPL 2022 season for the Men in Yellow, scoring 252 runs at an impressive average of 42 and a fantastic strike rate of 145.66, with three half-centuries to his name.

With the signing of England star all-rounder Ben Stokes, there has been a lot of talk about whether Devon Conway will be dropped to the bench. However, speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda, Glenn Pocknall explained how Conway's strong spin game makes him a crucial part of CSK.

He said:

"I hope they do play him (Conway) because he has been a success in the last season for Chennai. You’ve got another quality one there with Ben Stokes so the owners and the coaches will need to sit and plan how they want to pick their XI with the overseas players available.

"I feel he has to be in the side, but it then depends on how they juggle game-by-game with the side and depending on conditions too."

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Glenn Pocknall on New Zealand players participating in IPL

Former New Zealand fast bowler Simon Doull has been pretty vocal about IPL franchises preferring 'second-tier' Australian players over quality New Zealand players as their overseas picks.

However, Glenn Pocknall explained why this could be the case. He also believes that with many Kiwis in various think tanks, the number of New Zealand players in the IPL has only increased.

On this, he stated:

"Over the past couple of years, we have seen more and more New Zealand players get into the IPL and there have been some strong Kiwi connections there, with Stephen Fleming at Chennai, Mike Hesson at RCB, and Shane Bond, and James Pamment at Mumbai.

"But I think maybe with the salary caps and the auction prices, maybe the second-tier Aussie options could have been available for cheaper and probably that’s why they were attracted more in the past as well."

It will be interesting to see which Kiwi star stands out in the IPL 2023 season.