EXCLUSIVE
Follow UsBoth Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) have won one of their two games in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 so far. With both teams coming into the game at the back of a victory, they would look to carry that momentum into this game as well. Chennai have been one of the most consistent sides in IPL – missing out on the playoffs just once. Former England batsman Mark Butcher believes that for a few players in the side, their best days are behind them and that’s the reason he reckons they won’t make it to the playoffs this time.
“They’ve still got some great players. I’ll make a musical analogy – they’re like the Rolling Stones – when the old guys are really going, they can beat anybody. For some of these guys, the game has moved on a little bit and they may not be able to last the pace and that’s basically why I haven’t gone with them for making the playoffs,” Butcher said on Lara explained in a face-off against Criclytics, Cricket.com’s AI-driven prediction platform.
“Obviously, CSK are a playoff machine. They make them almost every time and they make the finals a lot. I’m looking at their squad, with the exception of somebody like Sam Curran, who is right at the beginning of his arc. For some of them, their best days are behind them. So, I’ve left them out. I’m expecting a mountain of abuse from the good folk of Chennai. But that’s how I say it. Hopefully, come the final four, I’ll be proven right” he added.
Butcher has also backed Robin Uthappa to come into CSK’s XI for this game after a couple of not-so-convincing performances from Ruturaj Gaikwad, who reinvented himself at the end of last season.
“Gaikwad’s numbers in the powerplay are terrible. His strike rate is less than 90. Robin Uthappa is up in the 140s. He also has a great game against left-arm quicks. Rajasthan have Mustafizur (Rahman) and (Jaydev) Unadkat, who I think is a terrific bowler, probably goes under the radar outside of India,” the former England batsman said on Cricket.com’s Man vs Machine
“Chennai need to get themselves moving a little bit. Give the likes of Moeen Ali and Suresh Raina coming behind them some impetus to work with. Faf du Plessis will probably play a bit or an anchor role anyway. I don’t think you need guys in the top three or four or five, who are going to bat at that sort of pace. The pitch at Wankhede demand fast scoring so, it’s important that they get that right,” he further added.
While it’s a huge blow not to have Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer in the team due to injuries, Butcher reckons this could be a blessing in disguise for someone like David Miller, who could enjoy having a bit of responsibility, as he did in 2014 when he played a huge part in taking Punjab to the final.
“Despite the fact that they’ve lost those two big players (Archer and Stokes), Jofra (Archer), we hope is going to come back at some point and strengthen them at the backend of the competition. That’s something to look forward to for Royals’ fans. I also think that (David) Miller – hasn’t lit up the IPL since 2014 when he and Glenn Maxwell for Punjab were superb. I think he is somebody that given the more responsibility as he had back then, it should be his time,” Butcher said.
“You have Jos Buttler, who started off down the order, Ben Stokes was opening. It looks like now with Stokes not being there, Buttler is going to get the chance to open. I think that could be really significant because it’s unlikely that a player as dangerous as Jos Buttler is going to stay quiet for very long. So, I’m expecting big things from him in this contest,” he added.
