CHENNAI: In the lead-up to the 15th edition of the IPL, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar spoke of the importance of impact players in the shortest format. He believed that these players (impact) will have a say in the fortunes of various teams.
Chennai Super Kings, who lock horns against Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening game at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday, have three impact players who can change the course of the game single-handedly. They are newly appointed skipper Ravindra Jadeja, batters Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway.
Gavaskar had a word of praise for Ruturaj Gaikwad who was outstanding in the last IPL, scoring 635 runs at an impressive strike rate of 136.26 Indications are that CSK will open with the Maharashtra player and Devon Conway in the first game as Moeen Ali is unlikely to play due to quarantine regulations.
Ruturaj won the orange cap in the IPL 2021 season and continued his form into the Vijay Hazare Trophy. A wrist injury sidelined him from playing for India recently. The four-time champions will hope to see Ruturaj provide good starts and help the team post challenging totals consistently.
"Ruturaj Gaikwad is another player who has very little areas to improve. There is nothing really required as far as Gaikwad's improvement is concerned. He has got all the shots in the book, but the most impressive aspect is his shot selection. Whatever shot he plays, he doesn't get cowed down," observed Sunil Gavaskar.
"He is not afraid to play the lofted shot when required and his shot selection has been very good in the IPL. So, there is very little that he needs to do. All he needs to do is keep on scoring runs similar to last season."
The Kiwi man Conway had done reasonably well against South Africa in Tests, against England in T20, and also the domestic games, so the 30-year-old can fill in the slot as an opener. With Faf du Plessis moving over to RCB, Conway can grab that spot.
"Ruturaj and Conway can make a good pair. The right-left combination could pose some tough questions to their opponents. They have the game to give a good start. And in T20, for any team, the runs you score in the powerplay will have a direct bearing on the result. So it is imperative that CSK pick a pair that could straight away go for runs," said former India and CSK player S Badrinath, who also touched upon the new skipper.
Jadeja's elevation has come at the right time. He was in good form against Sri Lanka. Also, he is one of the few players who is a regular in all three formats of the game.
"It will be difficult for any player to fill MS Dhoni's shoes. Having said that Jadeja has come through the ranks for CSK and knows pretty well how to handle the team. As far as leadership skills go he is one of the few players who play all three formats for India. That experience and knowledge will certainly come in handy while leading CSK. As far as temperament goes he is not hyper. He is cool, relaxed, jovial, and is friendly with all the players and this trait will come in handy as CSK captain," observed Badrinath.