'They tend to forget Suresh Raina's contribution' - Ravi Shastri opens up on CSK's batting woes in IPL 2022

Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has opined that the four-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) need to have a batter like their former loyal servant Suresh Raina. To note, the defending champions had a horrible time during their stint at the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) as they finished second last in the points table.

The left-handed batter Suresh Raina was not retained by the Yellow Army ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction. The defending champions did not even bid for the veteran player as he went unsold in the auction.  Shastri has now emphasized the fact that CSK needs to find someone like him to get back in contention for the IPL title.

Suresh Raina was a proven player in the IPL: Ravi Shastri

“CSK has been doing well for several years, but we often tend to forget Suresh Raina’s contribution. He was a proven player in the IPL. He used to provide stability by scoring runs consistently while batting at No.3,” Shastri said during a conversation with ESPN Cricinfo.

“He made things easier for the other batters. They need to find such a player. While Rayudu and Uthappa will still play, it will make a lot of difference if they get some cushion.” he added.

As mentioned above, CSK had a horrible time during this year’s edition as they only managed to win four matches from their 14 encounters. The Yellow Army managed to win their contests against Delhi Capitals (DC), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Mumbai Indians (MI), and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

As compared to the previous edition, the Yellow Army were missing the services of England’s all-rounder Sam Curran, and pacer Deepak Chahar, and to make things worse for them, their star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was not able to make an impact with both bat and ball. He eventually got ruled out of the season due to injury issues.

Meanwhile, the Qualifier 1 of the IPL 2022 is slated to be played between Gujarat Titans (GT) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) on May 24 (Tuesday).