3 unsold players who might have helped CSK win the title

Fambeat
Brendon McCullum wasn't picked by anyone at the auctions
Brendon McCullum wasn't picked by anyone at the auctions

The biggest extravaganza of T20 cricket - the IPL, lived up to its expectations of being the most exciting T20 league in the World with a breathtaking final that had everyone up on the edge of their seats till the last ball. Needing 2 runs to win off the last ball, Shardul Thakur couldn’t connect with Malinga’s off cutter and Mumbai went on to lift the trophy for the fourth time.

It was another successful season for the Chennai Super Kings who once again banked more on experience than youth. The bowlers were the star of the show and outperformed their batsmen in most of the matches. Their openers and middle order batsmen excepting MS Dhoni were poor with the bat.

Chasing a modest target of 150 runs, Chennai fell short by one run as their batsmen failed to get going once again. Through this article, we take a look at some of the unsold players who might have helped Chennai lift the title for the fourth time.


#1 Manoj Tiwary

Manoj Tiwary could have improved CSK's middle order
Manoj Tiwary could have improved CSK's middle order

Chennai’s middle order struggled throughout the season. The likes of Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu weren’t able to replicate their form of yesteryears while Kedar Jadhav could not do anything of note. Both Raina and Rayudu failed miserably in the final against Mumbai.

This led to enormous pressure on the shoulders of MS Dhoni who to his credit had a brilliant season again with the bat. But you can’t always rely on MS to perform game after game. He is bound to have a failure once in a while.

Manoj Tiwary might have been the middle order batsman that CSK were looking for. Tiwary has captained Bengal for quite a few years and has a chunk of experience. He can also play the big shots when needed.

Not to forget, he is a gun fielder and can bowl some useful part-time leg-break. CSK might want to gobble him up at the next auctions in order to boost their fragile middle order.

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#2 Morne Morkel

Morkel could have added experience to CSK's squad.
Morkel could have added experience to CSK's squad.

The unfortunate injury to Lungi Ngidi ensured that CSK was a bit light in the pace department this year. Add to that, David Willey pulled out of the tournament due to personal reasons. This meant CSK had to go in the tournament with only Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur as useful new ball options.

As good as Deepak might have been, he is still not world-class. IPL is a very competitive league and teams are always looking for any loopholes to exploit. Pace bowling department was that loophole for CSK.

Morne Morkel is one of the most experienced fast bowlers in world cricket. He has also bagged the purple cap in the past in IPL. The tall fast bowler from South Africa had recently retired from international cricket and would have been fresh for the tournament. He would have added the much-needed experience to CSK’s attack.

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#3 Luke Ronchi

Luke Ronchi can get teams off to quick starts
Luke Ronchi can get teams off to quick starts

A big reason for Chennai’s title-winning charge last year was the form of their openers. Both Ambati Rayudu and Shane Watson were colossal last year and got CSK off to great starts.

However, a new opening combination in Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson couldn’t replicate last year’s success and both struggled throughout the tournament. None of them could cross the 400 run mark. Watson, in particular, had a series of failures at the start but a lack of bench strength ensured that he wasn’t dropped from the playing XI.

Luke Ronchi is a T20 veteran these days and plies his trade all over the world. The 38-year old from New Zealand can hit the ball a fair distance. He has been consistently piling up runs in the Pakistan Super League for Islamabad United. He just might have been the X-factor that CSK were lacking at the top this year.

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Edited by Debjyoti Samanta