Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has a formidable team in this season of IPL and former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar reckons Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad are potentially the best opening pair in the tournament. Conway and Gaikwad were the franchise’s top two run-getters in the last season of the IPL. Devon Conway amassed 672 runs in 16 matches with a strike rate of 139.70 whereas Ruturaj Gaikwad smashed 590 runs in 16 games with a better strike rate of 147.50.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway had the five best partnerships for the Chennai-based franchise in the IPL 2023. They stitched 141 runs against Delhi Capitals last season in a match and then added 110 runs against Lucknow Super Giants. They strung 80-plus runs once each against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, the Gujarat Titans, and the Punjab Kings. The duo is expected to be performing similarly in the upcoming season. Sunil Gavaskar feels that Gaikwad and Conway reduce the pressure on the middle-order batters with the good start they provide.
During a discussion on Star Sports, Sunil Gavaskar was asked about the batting strength of CSK heading into the IPL 2024. The Chennai-based franchise is heading into the IPL 2024 as the defending champions and they are looking like one of the strongest teams of this season. Sunil Gavaskar talked about their might in batting and their openers who attack the ball starting from ball 1.
“That’s been their advantage over the years. All these years, they have always had batters at the top who can take the attack to the opposition from the first ball itself and then they have got the finishers as well,” he responded. “I feel their left and right-handed opening combination of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway is probably the best opening pair in the IPL because they always gave good starts last year. So the pressure was slightly eased on the players who used to come at No. 4 and No. 5,” the former India captain added.
Sunil Gavaskar Talks About The Depth In CSK’s Batting Lineup.
Sunil Gavaskar noted that the MS Dhoni-led side has a good depth in the line-up. “You always think about scoring runs in T20 cricket but chasing is also important. For chasing, you need to have a lineup where someone can come at No. 7 as well and hit big sixes,” he said.
The former Indian skipper pointed out that CSK have a lot of big hitters in their lineup. “You have got an MS Dhoni and now they have got somebody like a Shivam Dube batting at No. 3 or No. 4. He is a long hitter, and then Jadeja, look at the way he finished the finals. Deepak Chahar can also play the big shots. So clearly their batting is the least of their worries,” Gavaskar stated.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 is expected to begin during the third week of March and will carry on till the end of May. Chennai Super Kings would be hoping to win this season and defend their title to give a farewell gift to MS Dhoni who might be playing his last season in the IPL 2024.
