MUMBAI: The latest edition of IPL is still a month away but four-time champions Chennai Super Kings has already suffered a body blow to their chances. Struggling with a back injury, lanky seamer Kyle Jamieson will most likely miss IPL, 2023.
The CSK had specifically acquired his services for a princely amount of INR 1 crore in a bid to shore up their bowling reserves.
With Jamieson ruled out, the CKS is now left with only two overseas pace bowling alternatives in South African Dwaine Pretorious and Sri Lanka’s Matheesha Pathirana.
With lanky Kiwi seamer set to miss the cash-rich domestic T20 league and India regular Deepak Chhahar returning from an injury, the CSK is already sweating over the lack of bowling options in their dugout as the same could hurt their chances of sealing a playoff berth this season.
With the Chennai franchise wary of a repeat of last season where they finished second-last, we look at three options whom CSK may consider turning to in place of Jamieson.
The first name that the CSK fans my consider as a like-for-like replacement for Jamieson is Australian pace bowler Andrew Tye. Tye has become a great asset for many franchise teams with his slower ball variations and ability to nail yorkers in the death overs. In 214 matches Tyhe has picked up 301 wickets at an economy rate of 8.18.
His record in the IPL is more than decent, as the Aussie has picked up 42 wickets at an economy rate of 8.59 in 30 matches.
Tye came up with some eye-catching performances in the BBL 2022-23 season for Perth Scorchers, picking up 26 wickets in 16 matches. With a decent run of form behind him and an impressive overall record in the T20 format, the CSK may well consider enlisting his services for the upcoming season.
Another player that the CSK may consider is uncapped South African pace bowler Gerald Coetzee. An exciting talent in the shortest format, the 22-year-old has been climbing the charts with his T20 performances back home and may well turn out to be a trumpcard for the CSK should they sign for the upcoming season.
Coetzee was one of the top performers in the recent South Africa T20 league as he picked up 17 wickets in 9 matches at an economy of 8.07. His recent performances earned him a maiden national call-up for South Africa’s upcoming series against West Indies.
As Coetzee turned out for CSK’s sister franchise Joburg Super Kings, there’s a good chance that he might feature for the Chennai franchise in IPL 2023.
Another player, who may be in the thoughts of the CSK bosses as an ideal replacement for Jamieson is Australian fast bowler Riley Meredith. Touted as one of the quickest bowlers back home, Meredith featured for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2022, picking up 8 wickets in 8 matches at an economy rate of 8.43.
Even though the Australian went unsold in the mini auction for the upcoming season, he may well nail down a place in the CSK dugout as Jamieson’s replacement.
Someone who can bowl at over 140kmph on a consistent basis, Meredith has similar skill-sets as Jamieson and could turn out to be a good investment for the Chennai franchise. It will be interesting to see who the CSK bosses eventually turn out to boost their bowling options. (ANI)
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