T20 and T20I cricket prediction and discussion

[Haunebu]

Lord Tewatia almost finished the Sheldon Cottrell's IPL career. After getting hammerd by Tewatia, poor guy didn't get the games and now Punjab released him. Hope he gets the new buyer.

Lol. Very true. I don't think he will be saluting much anymore thanks to his recent performances. Releasing him was the right call by Punjab in my opinion. Releasing Maxwell was another great call too. Punjab needs to seriously rethink their options.

Robbie, once he was a great player but he is not really looking good in the recent IPL and again CSK went for 35 year old player?

They are probably trying the same experiment which they did with Piyush last season. Both players were from KKR. Only time will tell if this was a good decision.

[ene1980]

Forgot the Rahul Tewatia magic and there were some impressive performance and wins as well.

Rahul Tewatia batted at lower order and he didn't got much opportunities to prove his batting capabilities. But whenever he got a chance, he made the most use out of it. But IPL 2020 was extremely disappointing for the Rajasthan Royals, as they finished rock bottom of the points table. Even the CSK managed to finish ahead of them despite the horrible start they had.

Looking at the points table Rajasthan Royals is at the bottom, but this is the most competitive season as far i know about IPL and if you looking at the winning table CSK and KXIP won the same amount of games while KKR, RCB and SRH won one more match than the bottom Rajasthan Royals. The team management should be scrutinized for not picking the best team even though they had the talents and not giving the players the opportunity and holding players down the order.

[Sithara007]

Robbie, once he was a great player but he is not really looking good in the recent IPL and again CSK went for 35 year old player?

Still CSK gt 6 slots and only one overseas slots in it, not sure which one they are going to pick up for overseas, my guess will be they need a good player in the middle order so they will go with the same weaker bowling attack.

I don't know what is wrong with the CSK management team. They should ideally look for younger players, who can give them a quick opening stand. And they have gone for a guy, who is well past his prime. Uthappa currently plays for Kerala in the Indian domestic cricket structure and I have seen him in a few matches. He can't even run properly, although once in a while he score big runs.

[eaLiTy]

Chennai going to do much better in this season as they are playing in India and this time they got virtually zero dead weight in their squad (Jadhav.Murli Vijay).

The player transfer is open and RR have traded Robin Uthappa to CSK and they are building the team but they released Harbhajan Singh and  Piyush Chawla along with a few other players.

Mumbai released Lasith Malinga may be due to his fitness concerns.  Aaron Finch and Chris Morris released by RCB.

[JSRAW]

Robbie, once he was a great player but he is not really looking good in the recent IPL and again CSK went for 35 year old player?

Still CSK gt 6 slots and only one overseas slots in it, not sure which one they are going to pick up for overseas, my guess will be they need a good player in the middle order so they will go with the same weaker bowling attack.

I don't know what is wrong with the CSK management team. They should ideally look for younger players, who can give them a quick opening stand. And they have gone for a guy, who is well past his prime. Uthappa currently plays for Kerala in the Indian domestic cricket structure and I have seen him in a few matches. He can't even run properly, although once in a while he score big runs.

Hard to find young players if you want to fix your opening slot. Almost everyone (Gill, Prithvi, Paddikkal etc) already playing for other teams and overseas players like Finch might be bit expensive, may be that's why they went for Robin Uttappa.

[mersal]

Hard to find young players if you want to fix your opening slot. Almost everyone (Gill, Prithvi, Paddikkal etc) already playing for other teams and overseas players like Finch might be bit expensive, may be that's why they went for Robin Uttappa.

I guess CSK bought Robbie as a replacement player only because last year Ruturaj Gaikwod proved that he can open the innings so he will be opening along with Faf and the middle order of CSK already packed with Raina, Rayudu, MSD, Bravo and Jadeja but they miss someone who can bat as well as bowl-like Shane Watson or at least a proper middle-order batsman is needed for sure if CSK wants to shine like before.

I found some article and it seems CSK wants to buy those players.

3 players Chennai Super Kings might target in IPL 2021 auction

[JSRAW]

Hard to find young players if you want to fix your opening slot. Almost everyone (Gill, Prithvi, Paddikkal etc) already playing for other teams and overseas players like Finch might be bit expensive, may be that's why they went for Robin Uttappa.

I guess CSK bought Robbie as a replacement player only because last year Ruturaj Gaikwod proved that he can open the innings so he will be opening along with Faf and the middle order of CSK already packed with Raina, Rayudu, MSD, Bravo and Jadeja but they miss someone who can bat as well as bowl-like Shane Watson or at least a proper middle-order batsman is needed for sure if CSK wants to shine like before.

I found some article and it seems CSK wants to buy those players.

3 players Chennai Super Kings might target in IPL 2021 auction

I don't think if they have enough money to buy guys like Smith and Maxwell. Their total cost is close to $3 million, unless they are expecting to buy them cheaply or virtually no bid war, which seems very unlikely. 

[mersal]

Hard to find young players if you want to fix your opening slot. Almost everyone (Gill, Prithvi, Paddikkal etc) already playing for other teams and overseas players like Finch might be bit expensive, may be that's why they went for Robin Uttappa.

I guess CSK bought Robbie as a replacement player only because last year Ruturaj Gaikwod proved that he can open the innings so he will be opening along with Faf and the middle order of CSK already packed with Raina, Rayudu, MSD, Bravo and Jadeja but they miss someone who can bat as well as bowl-like Shane Watson or at least a proper middle-order batsman is needed for sure if CSK wants to shine like before.

I found some article and it seems CSK wants to buy those players.

3 players Chennai Super Kings might target in IPL 2021 auction

I don't think if they have enough money to buy guys like Smith and Maxwell. Their total cost is close to $3 million, unless they are expecting to buy them cheaply or virtually no bid war, which seems very unlikely. 

That is why they might target Jason Roy and Ish Sodhi more particularly because these players are potential enough but not in good form so they won't be getting much interest from ither franchise and I guess 13Cr maybe enough to pack these players along with some young Indian talents.

[eaLiTy]

I don't think if they have enough money to buy guys like Smith and Maxwell. Their total cost is close to $3 million, unless they are expecting to buy them cheaply or virtually no bid war, which seems very unlikely. 

Chennai needs to replace the openers and with Shane Watson announcing his retirement they need an explosive opener and now Robin Uthappa will open from one end and you need Smith or Maxwell to increase the run rate in the middle order. The failure of their middle order and the absence of Suresh Raina hurt them in their last season.

[Sithara007]

I don't think if they have enough money to buy guys like Smith and Maxwell. Their total cost is close to $3 million, unless they are expecting to buy them cheaply or virtually no bid war, which seems very unlikely. 

Both Smith and Maxwell don't have a good IPL record. Their last season was also very disappointing. Therefore I have a feeling that this time they won't attract bids above $1 million. Smith is one of the legends as far as test cricket is concerned, but the same is not applicable in the shorter format. Maxwell on the other hand is a T20 specialist. But even after so many years, he doesn't have too many memorable IPL performances to talk about.

[JSRAW]

~snip~

Chennai needs to replace the openers and with Shane Watson announcing his retirement they need an explosive opener and now Robin Uthappa will open from one end and you need Smith or Maxwell to increase the run rate in the middle order. The failure of their middle order and the absence of Suresh Raina hurt them in their last season.

Gaikwad opened the few games for them and he looked good. They should stick with him along with the Faf and may be keep Uttappa as back-up opener. Raidu, Raina, Dhoni, Jadeja and Sam curran looks solid in the middle to lower middle order.

@mersal Jason Roy looks good buy but he didn't play any game in last season or opted out from the tournament due to personal issue and last i heard he's not having best time in the BBL.

[aysg76]

~snip~

Chennai needs to replace the openers and with Shane Watson announcing his retirement they need an explosive opener and now Robin Uthappa will open from one end and you need Smith or Maxwell to increase the run rate in the middle order. The failure of their middle order and the absence of Suresh Raina hurt them in their last season.

Gaikwad opened the few games for them and he looked good. They should stick with him along with the Faf and may be keep Uttappa as back-up opener. Raidu, Raina, Dhoni, Jadeja and Sam curran looks solid in the middle to lower middle order.

@mersal Jason Roy looks good buy but he didn't play any game in last season or opted out from the tournament due to personal issue and last i heard he's not having best time in the BBL.

Roy will definitely be a good choice but there main focus should be on a quick fast bowler which they lack.They do have Hazlewood and Ngidi but a quick Indian bowler will do the work.

[JSRAW]

Gaikwad opened the few games for them and he looked good. They should stick with him along with the Faf and may be keep Uttappa as back-up opener. Raidu, Raina, Dhoni, Jadeja and Sam curran looks solid in the middle to lower middle order.

@mersal Jason Roy looks good buy but he didn't play any game in last season or opted out from the tournament due to personal issue and last i heard he's not having best time in the BBL.

If Jason Roy is available, then it is going to be a big boost for them. The combination of du Plessis and Roy should do the trick and it is possible to keep Uthappa/Gaikwad as the backup. One of the positives from last year's tournament for CSK was Sam Curran. His all round effort made its impact. Asking him to bat further up the order is one suggestion that they should try.

Gaikwad made couple of 50s for them at the top orders so i don't think they are going to bench him. He should get at least 2-3 games but if he fails then may be Sam Curran could replace him or Roy if CSK buy him.

Then again you need 4 overseas players. Chawla and Bajji are not there so i am not sure if they going to opt for 2 overseas opener (Faf-Roy). Faf,Curran and Bravo(if he's fit) seems fix. They should go with the another overseas bowler in the squad, on spin track Tahir/Satner and on fast may be Hazelwood/Ngidi.

[bryant.coleman]

Gaikwad made couple of 50s for them at the top orders so i don't think they are going to bench him. He should get at least 2-3 games but if he fails then may be Sam Curran could replace him or Roy if CSK buy him.

Then again you need 4 overseas players. Chawla and Bajji are not there so i am not sure if they going to opt for 2 overseas opener (Faf-Roy). Faf,Curran and Bravo(if he's fit) seems fix. They should go with the another overseas bowler in the squad, on spin track Tahir/Satner and on fast may be Hazelwood/Ngidi.

Last year, there were some rumors regarding the increase in limit for overseas players from 4 to 5. But I haven't heard anything on that subject recently and it looks like the limit is going to stay at 4. I agree that du Plessis and Curran seems to be permanent fixtures. But I am not that sure about Bravo. His form has declined recently and he has gone through serious injuries. Gaikwad may get a couple of outings, but if he fails to perform, then he'll be dropped. Tahir is around 42 years old, and I am not sure whether he'll be fit enough for IPL 2021. For the pace department, they have promising Indian players such as Shardul, KM Asif and Deepak Chahar. For spin also, they have Jadeja and Karn Sharma. They may need only one overseas player for the bowling department.

The clear picture will be available only after February 11th, after the auctions.

[JSRAW]

Gaikwad made couple of 50s for them at the top orders so i don't think they are going to bench him. He should get at least 2-3 games but if he fails then may be Sam Curran could replace him or Roy if CSK buy him.

Then again you need 4 overseas players. Chawla and Bajji are not there so i am not sure if they going to opt for 2 overseas opener (Faf-Roy). Faf,Curran and Bravo(if he's fit) seems fix. They should go with the another overseas bowler in the squad, on spin track Tahir/Satner and on fast may be Hazelwood/Ngidi.

Last year, there were some rumors regarding the increase in limit for overseas players from 4 to 5. But I haven't heard anything on that subject recently and it looks like the limit is going to stay at 4. I agree that du Plessis and Curran seems to be permanent fixtures. But I am not that sure about Bravo. His form has declined recently and he has gone through serious injuries. Gaikwad may get a couple of outings, but if he fails to perform, then he'll be dropped. Tahir is around 42 years old, and I am not sure whether he'll be fit enough for IPL 2021. For the pace department, they have promising Indian players such as Shardul, KM Asif and Deepak Chahar. For spin also, they have Jadeja and Karn Sharma. They may need only one overseas player for the bowling department.

The clear picture will be available only after February 11th, after the auctions.

BCCI only discussed about 10 teams IPL in recent meeting so yeah increasing overseas players in playing squad proposal is in cold bag for good. Guess they are not interested in this idea.

Bravo recent decline is because of fitness so its understandable. Tahir is old but he's very much fit to play in T-20 format. 

[bryant.coleman]

BCCI only discussed about 10 teams IPL in recent meeting so yeah increasing overseas players in playing squad proposal is in cold bag for good. Guess they are not interested in this idea.

Bravo recent decline is because of fitness so its understandable. Tahir is old but he's very much fit to play in T-20 format.  

The rumor is that the IPL 2022 will be a 9 team affair.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/ipl/top-stories/bcci-likely-to-add-only-one-ipl-franchise-for-now-industry-backs-move/articleshow/80321379.cms

The BCCI may restrict the Indian Premier League (IPL) to only nine teams for now, apropos of the general body "approving" the ITTs (Invitation To Tender) for two new franchises. In the BCCI's Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at Ahmedabad last month, the members had given approval to the inclusion of two new franchises in the IPL.

And regarding Tahir, I agree that he is one of the good options available for CSK. But with a limit of 4 overseas players, CSK will try their best to include Indian spinners in their lineup (if they get some good purchases during next month's auction). Tahir didn't played much in IPL 2020 (he was included in the playing XI for just 3 matches) and that indicates what the team management thinks about him.

[mersal]

Then again you need 4 overseas players. Chawla and Bajji are not there so i am not sure if they going to opt for 2 overseas opener (Faf-Roy). Faf,Curran and Bravo(if he's fit) seems fix. They should go with the another overseas bowler in the squad, on spin track Tahir/Satner and on fast may be Hazelwood/Ngidi.

Faf and Gaikwod seem the possible choice and curran or Bravo should stay in the middle order because they are capable of hitting big shots so in the later part of the innings they should be helpful when chasing huge scoring rates.

Tahir is still in the squad? He is a best bowler but age factor should be a real concern since he is going to be 42 IIRC so better replace him with santner, he is good with bowling and can also go for some shots if it is needed.

[JSRAW]

^^ He's in the squad but didn't get to play many games in the last season as bryant.coleman mentioned above. This year they released Bhajji and Chawla so may be he can get in the playing XI. Santner is left arm spinner- batting all rounder, they already have Jadeja as left arm spinner -batting allrounder.

The rumor is that the IPL 2022 will be a 9 team affair.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/ipl/top-stories/bcci-likely-to-add-only-one-ipl-franchise-for-now-industry-backs-move/articleshow/80321379.cms

Seems FTP cycle is main reason, nonetheless good decision by BCCI

[mersal]

^^ He's in the squad but didn't get to play many games in the last season as bryant.coleman mentioned above. This year they released Bhajji and Chawla so may be he can get in the playing XI. Santner is left arm spinner- batting all rounder, they already have Jadeja as left arm spinner -batting allrounder.

The rumor is that the IPL 2022 will be a 9 team affair.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/ipl/top-stories/bcci-likely-to-add-only-one-ipl-franchise-for-now-industry-backs-move/articleshow/80321379.cms

Seems FTP cycle is main reason, nonetheless good decision by BCCI

But only 4 overseas players are allowed to play so Faf, Curran, Bravo can be considered as permanent players so there is only one spot left which means this year also Tahir has fewer chances if CSK planned to buy a specialist's fast bowler or opening batsman. IPL 2021 is not too far away from now because it is expected to begin in the last week of March 2021.

[Sithara007]

But only 4 overseas players are allowed to play so Faf, Curran, Bravo can be considered as permanent players so there is only one spot left which means this year also Tahir has fewer chances if CSK planned to buy a specialist's fast bowler or opening batsman. IPL 2021 is not too far away from now because it is expected to begin in the last week of March 2021.

Faf du Plessis and Sam Curran are like guaranteed slots in the playing XI and the only question is regarding who will be the other two overseas players. Dwayne Bravo played only 6 matches for CSK in 2020, and his performance was unimpressive. And after the IPL, he is yet to figure in a competitive cricket match. Same goes for Tahir as well. He also had fitness issues and played only a few matches during the the last IPL.