3 issues which can hurt CSK in IPL 2023

The four-time IPL title holders, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) endured a lackluster season in 2022. They were able to win just four matches in 14 appearances and finished the season in ninth place. It was certainly a place in the table that their fans were not used to.

The good performances were in patches, and they seldom clicked as a unit. Not only did IPL 2021 "Orange Cap" holder Ruturaj Gaikwad hac a middling season with the bat, but the absence of their bowling spearhead Deepak Chahar hampered their team balance.

They tried every possible combination, but could not get enough success.

However, CSK had done exceedingly well in middle overs bowling with a season economy of 7.72; they conceded only 12.73% of runs on boundaries in that phase. This trend should continue as they have their fortress Chepauk back as their home venue and have quality spinners in Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali and Mahesh Theekshana.

Ahead of IPL 2022, CSK announced Ravindra Jadeja as their captain, and that raised much speculation about MS Dhoni's participation in the league. To silence all the rumors, he not only played the whole season but also took the team's charge back from Jadeja, who was visibly struggling to cope with the pressure of captaincy, which was reflecting in his performance as well.

At the auction table, CSK went very hard for Sam Curran but were outbid by Punjab Kings. But they managed to secure the services of Ben Stokes, whom we might see leading the Chennai-based franchise in the future. Not only will he add his all-around skills to the team, his leadership skills will be a great asset to the franchise.

Chennai fans will be hoping that the previous season was just an aberration and the team will script a great redemption by winning the coveted IPL Trophy for the fourth time.

But the road to success for the Yellow Brigade will not be easy, as they have some glaring issues in their lineup. Here's a look at the problems that could hamper CSK's chances in IPL 2023:

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#1 Pedestrian Powerplay batting

With Ruturaj Gaikwad not having the same performance he had in IPL 2021, the responsibility of scoring quickfire runs in the powerplay fell on Devon Conway, who usually takes his time to settle in before teeing off.

Throughout the season, CSK was either getting off to a bad start or, in order to lose fewer wickets in that phase, had a defensive mindset. As a result, they had a Strike rate of only 117, which put extra pressure on the middle-order batsmen to up the ante.

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#2 Death-overs batting issues

CSK was one of those teams that struggled big time in their 17–20 innings batting approach. In fact, they had the second-worst death-over strike rate (10.34) in the tournament.

With MS Dhoni in the twilight of his career and Jadeja under pressure from his captaincy stint, the death overs batting was done and dusted.

Shivam Dube did show some brilliance and spark, but he wasn't that consistent. If they have to win the trophy this time, they need to address this issue very badly this season.

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#3 Death-overs bowling woes

CSK, especially under Dhoni, uses Deepak Chahar very effectively in powerplays, where the latter gets to swing the ball both ways and trouble the batters.

But last season, Chahar was ruled out of the entire tournament, and that hampered their power bowling to a large extent, where they gave up runs at a season economy of 8.10.

With his return this season, the issue might be resolved. But one issue that even Deepak cannot resolve is their death-over bowling, which has been their Achilles heel for a very long time.

They had the second-worst season economy of 11.29 in that phase, which exemplifies the issue on a larger scale.

Matches tend to be decided in death-overs, and if the opposition gets even a little room in this phase, they will not let you come back into the match.

Hence, CSK needs to rethink their strategy and affirm to their fans that last season was an aberration only.