The highly anticipated IPL 2024 is just around the corner, with the tournament scheduled to begin on March 22. In the opening match, Chennai Super Kings will face off against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Led by MS Dhoni, CSK aims to clinch another title in their successful T20 journey. As usual, they’ve assembled a strong and balanced squad for this season, gearing up to compete fiercely against their rivals.
In the retention period, the franchise retained the core team. But apart from all of that, they purchased some great players. From some uncapped players to some World Cup heroes, they are going to grace CSK’s lineup. In batting order, some interesting faces can be worth watching. In this article, we will explore three batters of CSK to watch out for in IPL 2024.
Rachin Ravindra
The Kiwis are always known for their batting excellence. Their young player Rachin Ravindra is a great talent. The young gun is going to play his first-ever IPL season for the Chennai Super Kings. In the auction, CSK bid for the youngster and ended up naming him in the team. Rachin Ravindra was a standout player for New Zealand during the recent World Cup 2023. He batted up the order and scored three centuries, totaling 565 runs, the most by any player making their World Cup debut.
In his international career so far, Ravindra has scored 820 runs in ODIs from 25 matches and 146 runs in T20Is from 19 matches. He has also taken 29 wickets in limited-overs cricket for New Zealand. It’s uncertain where he’ll fit into the CSK lineup, as he’s mainly picked as a backup for Moeen Ali. Though it is going to be his inaugural IPL season, but he has experience playing in India. In Conway’s absence, he can be a good choice for Chennai’s top order.
Sameer Rizvi
The IPL 2023, auction has seen so many big purchases. The auction even witnessed the most expensive buy in the history of the tournament. In the auction, CSK management spend a whopping amount of 8.40 crore. They purchase Sameer Rzvi, an uncapped player. This exceptionally talented right-handed batter is fondly called ‘Right-Handed Suresh Raina’.
Sameer Rizvi recently played for the UP Ranji Trophy team, where he displayed his skills with notable performances in the Colonel CK Nayudu Trophy, including a triple hundred against Saurashtra. Despite being only 20 years old, Rizvi has already participated in 11 List A matches, accumulating 205 runs with an average of 29.28. His talent and potential have started to garner attention, and he is expected to make further strides in his cricketing career.
Ruturaj Gaikwad
This young India batter is a responsible Chennai opener. After his debut, CSK has found a reliable player in him. He caught the attention of CSK during the player auction for IPL 2019 at the age of 27. Gaikwad’s breakout moment came in IPL 2021, where he showcased his batting skills. His promising talent has made him a player to watch out for in the future of Indian cricket.
In the past years, he has had some promising stats for the franchise. In his 52 matches, Gaikwad has accumulated 1797 runs, including one century and 14 fifties. Additionally, he almost reached a century once with a score of 99. Gaikwad boasts an impressive average of 39.06 and a striking rate of 135.52. His prowess isn’t limited to IPL; he has also made significant contributions to the Indian team in limited-overs cricket, notably scoring a century against Australia in a recent T20I match. Gaikwad’s consistency has made him a valuable asset for CSK. Fans are waiting to see another destructive version of the opener.
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