What do you think about Gowtham or Karn replacing Ruturaj in the XI, with Rayudu moved up to open the batting? I know it could be overkill having 2 off spinners in Moeen and Gowtham, but you can always not bowl one of them depending on form and seeing Ruturaj's form, you could expect Gowtham to score much more than that considering he has won games for RR in the past with his bat. And Karn Sharma is no muck with the bat too, with 1000+ runs in T20's at a S/R of 127. Or they could try Sai Kishore (at risk of slightly lengthening their tail, which is non existent as of now).
Rayudu seems moving positively with his batting form (though I am never a fan of his running). You think Rayudu and Du Plessis could be CSK's rock solid opening combo, affording them the extra spinner as pitches get tired?
I would not go towards Gowtham unless CSK play in Delhi. I think they're a franchise who are able to separate the price paid for a cricketer and the playing 11. I'd said it last year as well that Raina and Harbhajan were huge losses and you scolded me after that. Harbhajan is still bowling so well. Because of the pitches becoming roads, the likes of Ashwin, Harbhajan and some more finger spinners are vastly underrated in their roles.
Till the time Moeen Ali is going some, they need not play Gowtham. Don't forget, they have Suresh Raina as well in case they need 2-3 overs more of off spin. While we have won two games with huge margins, the weakness at the top of the order and the fast bowling reserves remain. I would just straight swap Gaikwad and Uthappa. I saw Uthappa bat in the domestic tournament prior to this and he was in really good form and more than that he's a bank to make 30's and 40's. The only change that needs to happen with Uthappa which will basically require one conversation with Dhoni is that Uthappa can get out after the PP but not stall.
I am not in favour of Faf at the top. It's a wasted resource and I would definitely put Rayudu there to partner Uthappa. Faf will either play a little cameo on a flat deck like yesterday or just have a 110-120 middling half century. I also feel Raina at 4 is sluggish while I think Ali's stocks will further increase if he bats at 4. Between Dhoni and Raina he's the injection of intent needed in the middle overs.
If Dhoni is going to bat below 5 then it's trouble for us. We need to accept some of his limitations and he should probably even avoid batting if 15 overs have passed as Jadeja, Curran are much better off. Jadeja at 7 and Curran at 8 are just a waste of resource and we will get found out when we meet the big ticket teams where every over matters.
This is my all purpose CSK XI
Uthappa
Rayudu
Raina
Ali
Dhoni
Jadeja
Curran
Thakur
Chahar
Tahir
Behrendoff
I genuinely believe that they need to get an overseas quick and Tahir in. I know Karn is a local option but Tahir gets wickets and is a consistent bank. I know Bravo has done well but just like Russell, he's predictable and when he meets the batters who are the real deal, they will circle him like sharks and eat him alive. Sure, there could be one or two flukes but I don't see it as a permanent solution.
EDIT- To sight and example, Bravo was bowling wides to Dube in one of the middle overs. I have no issue if someone bowls 10 wides in an over provided they're looking to pick wickets. Dube had his feet stuck in cement and didn't try to capitalise on the predictability of what Bravo was going to bowl but not all franchises will have Dube batting there. You have to look to take wickets through 20 overs because against a good batsman you will anyway get tonked if you don't. It doesn't matter what ball you're bowling or what field you have.
