IPL 2019: 3 CSK players who need to step up their game in the playoffs

We are at the last week of the Indian Premier League 2019. Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, and Sunrisers Hyderabad are the four teams, who managed to reach the playoffs. MI and CSK will contest in Qualifier 1 in Chennai on Tuesday, while DC and SRH will face each other in the Eliminator in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.

Although CSK managed to qualify for the playoffs once more, there are quite a few concerns in their playing XI.

MS Dhoni has shouldered the batting responsibility alone for most of the season. Suresh Raina and Faf du Plessis have joined the party only recently. Kedar Jadhav is uncertain for the rest of the tournament due to an injury. Several star performers from last season have experienced a significant dip in form this season.

So, let us look at three CSK players who must step up their game during the playoffs.

---

#3 Dwayne Bravo

Bravo has lost his magical touch with the ball in the death overs

Dwayne Bravo, the West Indian all-rounder, has almost passed the prime stage of his career. In CSK’s title-winning triumph last year, Bravo played only a minimal role.

Though he picked up 14 wickets last year, he was smashed all around the park. With an economy rate of 9.96, he struggled to control the run flow in the death-overs last season. Barring his 68 runs against Mumbai Indians in the season opener, he did not make any significant contributions with the bat last year.

IPL 2019 has been no different for Bravo as he is again struggling to make any valid contribution to the team’s success. It is acceptable that Bravo did not get enough opportunities with the bat this season due to CSK's lengthy batting line-up.

With the ball, he has claimed nine wickets in as many matches with an economy rate of 8.40. He has once again struggled to contain the batsmen in the death overs. He conceded 29 and 17 runs in the 20th overs in CSK’s away and home fixtures against Mumbai Indians respectively in the group stage.

With the Qualifier 1 scheduled against Mumbai again, it will be interesting to see how Bravo bowls in the death overs.

Follow Sportskeeda for all the updates on orange cap, points table, schedule, news, live scores, purple cap and fantasy tips.

#2 Ambati Rayudu

Rayudu has not made any significant contribution in this season

2018 was a dream year for Ambati Rayudu. First, he became a star performer in the IPL after staying under the radar for such a long time. Then, he got a recall in the Indian team for the limited-over formats. Soon, he was identified as the ideal candidate for the no.4 slot in the ODIs. Even the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli, was satisfied with Rayudu’s performances at no.4 last year.

However, everything turned upside down with the start of 2019. Rayudu was axed from the Indian cricket team. Soon, he lost his place in the World Cup squad due to his poor form and lack of "three-dimensional qualities". Now, he is struggling for form in the ongoing IPL season.

In 14 matches, he has scored only 219 runs with a poor strike rate of 90.49. Rayudu’s batting position this season might be the reason for his poor performances. However, irrespective of the batting position, these numbers are sparse for a player such as Rayudu.

Follow Sportskeeda for all the updates on points table, schedule, news, live scores, orange cap, purple cap and fantasy tips.

#1 Shane Watson

Shane Watson's 96 runs against SRH is his only valuable knock in this season

Shane Watson had an incredible IPL season last year as he scored 555 runs from 15 innings with a strike rate of 154.59. Besides, he scored two centuries in the last year's IPL, with one of them coming in the all-important final.

Hence, plenty was expected from the Australian all-rounder this season. However, he has disappointed everyone with his inconsistent knocks. In 14 matches, he has managed to score only 258 runs, with 96 of them coming in a single game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Besides, he is the batsman to be dismissed the most number of times (10) within the powerplay (overs 1-6) this season. As a result, CSK have frequently lost a minimum of one wicket within the powerplay in 10 out of their 14 league games.

Since MS Dhoni loves to stick with a same set of players, Watson might still feature in the upcoming Qualifier 1 clash against Mumbai Indians despite his repeated failures, but he needs to step up his game big time.