Chennai Super Kings 2022 IPL Change What Has Gone Wrong

The Chennai Super Kings are one of the most successful teams in IPL history and came into the 2022 season as reigning champions. With the super auction, huge changes were made to the Super Kings squad. They were one of a few teams to hold onto four players including captain MS Dhoni.

Despite keeping their major stars, it seems pretty much impossible for Chennai to defend their title this year. They are currently ninth in the IPL having only won four games so far this season. So how has it gone so wrong for Chennai?

Chennai's 2022 IPL Change

As with the rest of the IPL, Chennai understood that 2022 would bring big changes due to the auction and two new teams entering the IPL. It came at the worst time for the team as it meant they had to break up the title-winning team of 2021.

After big changes in the draft, it looked like they could have a very good try at defending their title in 2022, but it was been a terrible season for Chennai. In fact, they lost their first four games including big losses to Punjab and Kolkata. It is pretty much impossible for Chennai to get back into the top four and it looks like they won't be champions this year.

No Doubt Injuries Have Played A Huge Part

Before we go into any other reasons for the team's struggles this year, there is no doubt that injuries have played a huge part in the team's struggles this season. Deepak Chahar is of course the biggest example of this. He was the second most expensive purchase of the 2022 auction just behind Ishan Kishan.

He has been a part of Chennai since 2018 and despite not holding onto him before the auction, it was clear Chennai wanted him to return for 2022. The issue is that Chahar has been ruled out of the entire tournament with a back injury. It is a huge loss for Chennai as Chahar has become a premium pacer over the last few years.

Chahar is the main loss, but Chennai has also struggled with injuries throughout the season. During the auction they bought Adam Milne who was good for Mumbai in 2021. After playing just one game, he was ruled out of the rest of the tournament. Losing these two has meant that Chennai's pace attack has been seriously depleted.

It seems as though losing Josh Hazelwood, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi and Sam Curran have really hurt them. To add to the team's woes, Moeen Ali picked up an ankle injury that kept him out for four games. There is no doubt that the injuries have played a big part in the team's struggles.

Captaincy Issues

There were a lot of worries around the team's leadership before the season even started. Just two days before the season was due to start, MS Dhoni decided to step down as captain of CKS, with Ravi Jadeja taking over.

At the time it was obviously the smart decision with Dhoni stepping down. Jadeja is undoubtedly one of the best all-rounders in the world and has been a part of CSK since 2018. Very quickly this turned out to be the wrong decision.

Jadeja has not shown the leadership qualities of a captain, with Dhoni doing a lot of the organizing on the field despite handing over responsibility to Jadeja. Under his leadership, the team lost six of their first eight games and Jadeja did not look like the right man for the job. So after those games, he relinquished the captaincy to focus on his struggling form.

Dhoni returned to captaincy, but it seems like the decision has already done the damage.

Chennai has struggled in all departments this season and it seems like the captaincy has also had a big effect on Jadeja's form. He is averaging less than 20 with the bat and only just under 50 with the ball.

It appears that not only have the captaincy decisions hurt the team, but they have also hurt Jadeja's ability to perform.

Auction Process Mistakes

Much like a few other teams, it seems like Chennai made some mistakes in their auction process. The most major of those issues is that it seems as though CSK fell victim to the massively inflated prices of this season's auction.

I do still believe that they overpaid for Deepak Chahar. It just doesn't seem right that he was the second most valuable player available. There were definitely some better uses of that money. Kagiso Rabada, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Kuldeep Yadav could have all been better options who were much cheaper.

It seems like bringing back Dwayne Bravo was definitely the right move as he has been the team's best bowler this season despite struggling with the bat. Their issues with the bat have been crucial to Chennai performing poorly.

It really seems like the decision to let go of Faf du Plessis has been a crucial one. The first was his huge batting impact. Faf was brilliant opening the batting last season and his opening partnership with Ruturaj Gaikwad was a big reason for the title last year. Failing to bring him back has not only hurt the teams batting, but Gaikwad looks like a shell of himself. Not only has let go of Faf hurt their batting, but the South African could have definitely taken over as captain if he had been retained. The poor batting form of Moeen Ali and Ambati Rayadu has made losing Faf hurt even more.

It is just continuing to look like CSK did not make the right choices in the auction and it could certainly hurt them for the next few years. The acquisition of Devin Conway has of course helped this, with the Kiwi leading Chennai to three wins in their last five.

Conclusion

Despite this, it all looks too little too late for Chennai. Mistakes prior to and during the season have really hurt the team and it looks like there will be a new IPL champion in 2022.

Related IPL Trending and News Topics

• Why Cricket Captaincy Is Harder Than It Looks, Case In Point Chennai Super Kings

---

Continue to take care of the majority of Esball Eu loyal players!

Now! Esball Eu is once again launching the Sign Up free ₹100 Welcome Bonus  and 200% JILI Slot Game Bonus For First Deposit Casino Promotion. 

You can also click to enter the Online Casino Bonus & Promo introduction, which provides more diverse casino bonuses.