Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has backed Rachin Ravindra to do well at Chennai Super Kings, saying that he could be their most valuable player in IPL 2024 as well. CSK will play against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first match of IPL 2024 at the Chepauk Stadium on March 22. Notably, CSK got a heavy blow with the injury of New Zealand opener Devon Conway, which ruled him out of IPL 2024.
He was CSK’s leading run-scorer in IPL 2023, amassing 672 runs in 16 matches at an average of 51.69 while striking at 139.70 and hitting six fifties as well. He finished behind Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli in the race for the Orange Cap last season as well. Speaking on his Youtube channel, Chopra said that CSK will be fine in Conway’s absence because they have Rachin Ravindra who has been in great form. CSK signed Ravindra for Rs 1.80 crore in the IPL 2024 mini-auction which was held in Dubai in December 2023.
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“I still feel this team will be fine because they do something and find someone. Here they had already kept an amazing player in the form of Rachin Ravindra as his (Conway’s) backup. He had a very good World Cup and he scored runs in Tests also recently. He is in the form of his life. However, let’s be fair, his T20 numbers are not good. T20 numbers not being good and playing for CSK is a good thing. So you might see Rachin Ravindra’s T20 avatar now. Left-handed opener and left-arm spin, he has all the ingredients to become the most valuable player,” the former India opener added.
Aakash Chopra also added that Rachin Ravindra doesn’t have great statistics in T20s, we might get to see a new side of him in the T20 format of the game at CSK as well. Ravindra has also scored just 214 runs in 20 T20Is for New Zealand, averaging 16.46 while striking at 133.45. However, CSK won the title last season, defeating Gujarat Titans in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Meanwhile, the veteran also shared what changes CSK can do.
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“The other option is that, if they wish, they can play Daryl Mitchell. Earlier they were thinking of choosing between Daryl Mitchell and Moeen Ali. So you can play Daryl Mitchell and make him open. I know he is not an opener but it doesn’t make a difference in T20 cricket. Will they be worried? Devon Conway was super consistent last year. So they will be slightly worried because if any foreign batter has batted easily in the Chennai and Indian conditions, played spin very well, that player is, of course, Devon Conway,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
