Three Reasons Why CSK Might Struggle Without the Bowling Option of Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes IPL: Chennai Super Kings has had a fantastic IPL auction where they strengthened certain key areas. They were lacking a star player apart from MSD and Ravindra Jadeja. That is when they bought Ben Stokes. 

Chennai Super Kings had a difficult going in the Indian Premier League the previous season. They weren’t at their fairest which is why they had to end in 9th position with merely 8 points in 14 matches.

This was their poorest performance ever in an IPL season. Chennai Super Kings has been a franchise that qualified for playoffs every season but the previous IPL season was their first without qualifying for playoffs. None of their players looked sharp despite having enormous prospects. The facet of it was also because Chennai Super Kings had a below-average IPL auction in November.

But the Chennai Super Kings management did well this time. They weren’t rusty like in the last auction. They bought what they needed. However, Chennai Super Kings are still lacking in the bowling department.

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Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni must work hard to deal with the bowling problem. But the franchise won’t have much problem for half of the matches as they’ll play at Cheapauk which has a slower and dry wicket.

Three Reasons Why CSK Might Struggle Without The Bowling Option Of Ben Stokes

3. Limited Bowling Stocks

Chennai Super Kings are finding difficulty in terms of the bowling options. They have a lot of injuries and absences which has caused them a big blow. Mukesh Choudhary played well in the last IPL season.

However, his availability is still unknown due to a back injury. Even Kyle Jamieson is ruled out of this season. While Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana will miss the first three matches due to national duty.

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2. Half of the Matches in Chennai

Chennai Super Kings will finally be back at their Anbuden this season after a long wait. This is a massive advantage for the MS Dhoni-led team as they rely on slow pitches due to spin quality.

Ben Stokes‘s bowling variations would have suited the slow and dry pitch of Cheapauk. Such an option would have come in handy for Chennai Super Kings if Ben Stokes wasn’t carrying a knee injury.

1. Scarce Death Bowling Options

Chennai Super Kings is a team that lacks death bowling quality and options. This has been a story for the past two or three seasons. But CSK management did not stress enough on this brewing situation.

As a result of that, CSK has massively fallen short on this front. They don’t have any death bowling specialists. And in such a scenario, Ben Stokes IPL as a bowling option could have provided a short-term solution to the management.

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