highlights
Harbhajan Singh said that Ravindra Jadeja is the best all-rounder.
Chennai will take on Gujarat Titans in the first match of IPL on 31st March.
Mumbai. Former India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) cricketer Harbhajan Singh believes star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will be the ‘X factor’ for four-time champions CSK in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament. . After being out for several months due to knee surgery, Jadeja made a successful return to international cricket and played a key role in India’s 2–1 victory in the four-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. After a fluctuating season last year, the experienced all-rounder is expected to once again play a key role for the team. Jadeja was given the responsibility in the last season when Mahendra Singh Dhoni left the captaincy after taking command of the team for many years.
Ravindra Jadeja, who has been a part of CSK since 2012, however could not impress as captain. The team lost six out of their first eight matches, after which Jadeja stepped down and Dhoni once again took over the captaincy. Dhoni will also be in the role of captain in the 2023 season. IPL 2023 will begin on March 31 with a match between Superkings and defending champions Gujarat Titans.
Harbhajan told ‘Star Sports’, “One person everyone should keep an eye on is Ravindra Jadeja, especially how he bats for CSK. He can be sent up the batting order and he will also bowl four overs. If you look at it from the perspective of world cricket, I don’t think there is a better all-rounder than him.”
He said, “I am waiting to see Jadeja in IPL. The X factor for me would be Ravindra Jadeja because he has been very successful in these conditions as a bowler and a batsman, he has been playing there for so many years. So for me he is definitely going to be the X factor for the team.”
This former Indian spinner said that Dhoni remains the heart of the team. Harbhajan said, “The biggest strength of this team is Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He is the heart of the team. He knows the team very well and he is probably the best person who can extract maximum contribution from each and every player in the team. According to him, players like Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Devon Conway and Mahesh Tikshana will play an important role in IPL 2023 for the team.
Harbhajan said, “First of all I will choose Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Conway will definitely be in the team and Tikshana will be preferred over Pathirana, as Tikshana will be more effective in Chennai. But if there is a match against Mumbai Indians at a venue like Mumbai, I would pick Pathirana as he bowls very much like Malinga and spin won’t play a big role there.” He said, “If I have to choose four foreign players, they would be Conway, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Teekshana.”
First read breaking news in Hindi News18 Hindi| Read today’s latest news, live news updates, most reliable Hindi news website News18 Hindi.
Tags: chennai super kings, Csk, Harbhajan singh, IPL 2023, Ravindra Jadeja
FIRST PUBLISHED : March 13, 2023, 20:36 IST