IPL 2020 - ‘Raina’s absence is a major concern’: Dean Jones explains why CSK face a huge challenge

Chennai Super Kings were dealt a huge blow during their build-up to the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) season when their star batsman Suresh Raina pulled out of the tournament and returned home due to ‘personal reasons’.

Raina has been the most prolific run-getter for CSK over the years in the IPL and he is the second highest run-getter in the history of the tournament. His absence thus will be a gaping hole in CSK’s top order. What also needs to be noted is that Raina’s presence was extremely crucial because he is the only left-handed batsman in the top order, which would have given a much needed balance to CSK’s batting line-up.

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These were the issue that former Australia batsman and eminent cricket pundit Dean Jones touched upon while speaking exclusively on the Star Sports show Game Plan.

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“Raina’s absence is a major concern this time and he is in the top 5 run getters in IPL. He is a left hander and plays spin very well and the weakness for CSK could be that majority of their players are right handed.

“They need some left handers or they could get stuck and particularly if they are playing to leg spinners and the ball is going away,” Jones said.

The Australian further spoke about the need to find the right combination in Raina’s absence and said that the duo of captain MS Dhoni and coach Stephen Fleming will have to figure a way out.

“So whether to go with Sam Curran or Jadeja and Bravo or Tahir. Watson and Dhoni haven’t batted for long. Raina and Harbhajan have gone home as well, so it is up to Fleming and Dhoni, how they gel the team together,” Jones added.

CSK open their campaign on the opening day with a high octane clash against fierce rivals and defending champions Mumbai Indians.