Former India spinner Murali Kartik feels Chennai Super Kings might replace Maheesh Theekshana with Mitchell Santner in the playing XI for their upcoming clash against Rajasthan Royals on Thursday. After a forgettable last season, CSK have bounced back well in IPL 2023 and are currently placed at the top of points table with 10 points in 7 matches. The Yellow Army have played dominant cricket despite several injury crises in their camp as Ben Stokes, Deepak Chahar and Simarjeet Singh are still recovering from their respective injuries.
The table-toppers are riding high on confidence as their batters – Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ajinkya Rahane have been performing consistently well. While Shivam Dube has got his mojo back and played a couple of crucial knocks in the last few matches.
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Meanwhile, the bowlers are also performing well as a unit despite the absence of Stokes and Chahar.
Karthik feels that skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has managed Matheesha Pathirana well so far as said he uses him like a remote control
“Mitchell Santner could replace Theekshana, if he does at all. Pathirana is a seam bowler, he bowls really well in death overs. He’s emerging really well under MS Dhoni. Dhoni uses him like a remote control, Pathirana does what Dhoni wants. So, I won’t replace Pathirana,” Kartik told Cricbuzz.
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The former left-arm spinner said that Santner brings a lot in all three dimensions of the game but admitted that Dhoni might have a different plan.
“Seam bowling is a weak link for CSK. Akash Singh has done well, he bowled four back-to-back overs in the previous game.. From the first day, I’ve been saying that Mitchell Santner bowls good against any batter in any situation. There’s no better batter among bowlers than Santner. And he’s a gun fielder, his arm movement is brilliant. So, for me, there’s a case for his inclusion. But then, MS looks at the game differently,” Kartik further said.
Chennai lost their home tie against Rajasthan Royals but they will start as favourites on Thursday. Sanju Samson and Co. have lost their last two matches and they will be under pressure to bounce back.
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