IPL 2021: It Is High Time CSK Turn to Imran Tahir

CSK made a poor start to their 2021 campaign. Despite scoring an above-par total of 188, they failed to defend it. The Delhi Capitals cruised to the target with plenty of wickets to spare. By the time CSK took the first DC wicket, the match was pretty much over as a contest.

Chennai was missing an attacking wicket-taking bowler and that is where Imran Tahir would have been a perfect option for Dhoni. With 384 wickets at an economy rate of under seven runs per over, Tahir is a T20 specialist.

He is one of South Africa's highest wicket-takers in this format and was the purple-cap holder with 26 wickets during the 2019 IPL. He could have really made an impact on the game against DC.

But the absence of a few key players and the restriction on the number of overseas players a team can play has kept Imran outside the playing eleven since the beginning of last season. He played only three matches last season and was badly missed in the playing eleven in CSK's opener this season on Saturday.

CSK knows the importance of playing Tahir but fitting him into the playing XI will need them to reshuffle their entire team.

How Imran Tahir can find a place in CSK's playing XI

Imran Tahir is a wicket-taking option for CSK. He has taken 80 wickets in just 58 IPL matches, which includes 33 wickets in 26 matches for CSK. What's even more amazing is the fact that his economy rate is under eight runs per over. He should be starting for CSK.

So it is definitely worth the risk of re-thinking their team balance before they start finding themselves in the bottom half of the points table yet again.

CSK played Faf Du Plessis (Opening Batsman), Moeen Ali (All Rounder - Spin), Sam Curran (All Rounder - Seam) and Dwayne Bravo (All Rounder - Seam) as the four overseas players. Mitchell Santner (All Rounder - Spin), Jason Behrendorf (Seamer) and Lungi Ngidi (Seamer) are the other overseas options sitting out besides Tahir.

Whatever the combination of the Indian players, Tahir can't be squeezed into the playing eleven without leaving out any overseas players. While Tahir doesn't appear to be a like-for-like replacement for Faf Du Plessis, one of the all-rounders can be rested.

With Shardul Thakur batting at number ten, CSK loaded a bit more batting firepower for the first game than necessary. Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja batting in the top six kept skipper Dhoni at number seven, which doesn't really make sense for Chennai.

Hence, swapping in Tahir for Ali or Bravo would allow CSK to get a wicket-taking bowler in the team without really hampering their batting depth.

What will Tahir bring to the team?

Shardul Thakur is capable of bowling at a range of 140 kmph regularly and using a knuckle ball effectively during death overs. Deepak Chahar and Sam Curran are the two other fast bowling options. With Chennai playing their first five matches at Wankhede, which offers some swing, all three fast bowlers are needed in the team.

Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali are two bowlers who do a decent job of containing the run rate but their roles tend to overlap a lot.

Dwayne Bravo is the sixth bowling option who can squeeze in a couple of overs wherever needed.

But what it does is it leaves CSK wanting a genuine wicket-taking bowler yet overloaded on the all-rounders front. One of the two players between Bravo and Ali should sit out to make way for Tahir.

It is high time CSK addressed this issue. There is no guarantee that Imran Tahir's inclusion will turn the tide in CSK's favor. However, their current formula is clearly not working.