IPL 2018 | Suresh Raina's form has been one of the key factors in CSK’s success, says Srikkanth

IPL 2018 | Suresh Raina's form has been one of the key factors in CSK’s success, says Srikkanth

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Former Chennai Super Kings ambassador Kris Srikkanth has claimed that Suresh Raina’s performance on the pitch for CSK was directly proportional to their success as a whole. The former player has also called MS Dhoni a master tactician because of his intelligence in utilizing the spin resources.

Left-handed batsman Suresh Raina is a household name in the southern region of India, where he is adored by the Super kings’ fan base due to his impressive displays in the yellow jersey over the years. Raina captained the Gujarat Lions team in the last edition of the IPL but returned to Chennai after the completion of the team’s two-year ban. 

Raina was the first player to score 3000 runs in the IPL and also holds the record of most no. of catches (86) in the IPL. The Indian batsman has played 162 matches throughout his IPL career and has amassed 4,554 runs at a strike rate of 138.96. However, former Indian Test captain Kris Srikkanth believed that Raina has been rushing his innings in his recent outings on the pitch. Srikkanth added that Raina’s form was a crucial part of all the success that CSK have achieved over the years.

"Over the last decade, Suresh Raina's form has been one of the key factors in the success of Chennai Super Kings. CSK are a different unit when Raina comes to the party. My observation of Raina since his comeback into the national T20 scheme of things is that he needs to give himself a few more deliveries to settle down in the middle before unleashing his range of shots. 

"I feel he is rushing through his strokes a touch early. It was evident on a few occasions in his recent international T20s and now in the IPL opener against Mumbai Indians, too, he tried to be aggressive from the start. If he can give himself some space in the initial phase of his innings, then he can go on to destroy any attack," wrote Srikkanth in his column for TOI.

The Super Kings will face-off against the Knight riders in today’s match of the day and Srikkanth has predicted that encounter will be decided by the spinners involved in both the teams. Srikkanth was quick to point out Dhoni’s capability of making the most of the spinners in the CSK dugout at Chepauk.

"MS Dhoni & Co are back to Chepauk for their clash against KKR. Dhoni has always been a master tactician while operating his spin resources on tracks that offer assistance for the tweakers. The way he handles his spinners during the Powerplay is quite a treat to watch and his knowledge of the Chepauk pitch would be a big advantage," wrote Srikkanth.

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