3 players CSK might release ahead of IPL 2023

The four-time IPL champions, Chennai Super Kings, didn’t quite have the IPL they would have wished for after the mega auction. CSK’s failure to make the playoffs in the 2022 IPL is only the second time in the league’s 15-year history. After being tagged as the “Dad’s Army” in 2018, CSK made a miraculous comeback in 2018 by winning the title with an average age of players being above 30.

However, the whistle-podu army had a good mix of young and senior players in the 2022 season but still failed to deliver the results. As CSK were already eliminated from the ongoing Tata IPL 2022, they tried a few new faces in the final few games to test the waters of these players and how they can be utilized in the coming years.

In an attempt to add the 5th title to their collection, CSK might just want to bring in some new energy to their squad. While CSK will give opportunities to young players, the Super Kings will also close the curtains on a few aging players who might not fit into their combination in the next season.

Here are the top three players that CSK might release ahead of the 2023 season:

3. Chris Jordan

Chris Jordan, England’s T20 specialist, was bought by Chennai Super Kings for a whopping INR 3.60 crores. Jordan has had a nightmare of an IPL, where he has picked just two wickets in four innings. He has given away runs at an economy of more than 8.9 runs per innings for Chennai. The worst innings for the English all-rounder came when he was dismissed all over the park by the Gujarat batters in a run chase. Then, Jordan gave away 25 runs in the 18th over when the game was pretty much in Chennai’s pocket and cost them a win with an expensive over.

Jordan was benched after the game against Gujarat and never really made a comeback into CSK’s playing eleven. With Dwyane Bravo almost running towards the end of his career, Chennai was looking for a bowling all-rounder to replace DJ Bravo. Jordan was roped in to be the like-for-like replacement for Bravo but has been nothing short of a blunder for CSK. In fact, CSK also purchased Dwaine Pretorious, who has rather come close to being a replacement for Bravo with his slower balls and pinch hitting in the end.

CSK would like to make way for a better bowling all-rounder in place of the aging Chris Jordan in the next season too. In IPL 2022, CSK’s middle order and bowling looked a bit fragile. A hard-hitting all-rounder should be the ideal choice for CSK. With the likes of Ben Stokes expected to be a part of the 2022 auction, Stokesy could be the perfect replacement for the four-time IPL champions. As Jordan didn’t get even a single game ever since he was dropped, it shows the lack of trust of CSK management over Jordan. It would be interesting to see how Jordan performs on the international circuit, which will decide his fortunes for the 2023 IPL.