IPL 2018: 5 possible replacements for Kedar Jadhav

After leading Chennai to a fantastic victory in the first match of the Indian Premier League against the Mumbai Indians, Kedar Jadhav has now been ruled out of the tournament due to a hamstring injury.

During the second innings of the first match, Jadhav walked off the field while batting, however, he came back when CSK were nine wickets down and needed 7 runs to win off the final over.

Unfortunately, he won't be able to play anymore and CSK will have to look for a replacement. With Mitchell Santner also ruled out, the team management will look to rope in a foreigner, preferably an opening batsman.

Here are the five players who CSK might bring in for the rest of the tournament:

#5 Luke Ronchi

The explosive Kiwi all-rounder was in phenomenal form in the recently concluded Pakistan Super League. He helped his side, Islamabad United, win the tournament and was named the man of the tournament as well.

He scored 435 runs in 11 innings at an average of 43.50 and a strike-rate of 182.

He was priced at Rs. 75 lakhs in the IPL auction, however, he went unsold. He could be the perfect replacement for Jadhav and could play at the top of the order and give Chennai an explosive start.

He is handy behind the stumps as well and keep wicket in the absence of MS Dhoni.

#4 Colin Ingram

The explosive South African batsman played 31 ODIs and 9 T20Is from 2010-2013 but went out of favour after a string of inconsistent performances.

He went the Kolpak way in 2015 and has been playing for Glamorgan since then. He has been a part of a lot of T20 leagues all around the world and has been an integral part in whichever team he has played for.

He had a good run with the Karachi Kings in the recently concluded PSL and could be the perfect replacement for Jadhav for the rest of the tournament.

#3 Shaun Marsh

The left-handed Australian batsman was one of the most consistent performers in the IPL over the years and is, till date, the highest run-getter for the Kings XI Punjab, despite hardly playing any matches over the past couple of years.

It came as a huge shock when he went unsold in this year's mega-auction which were held in Bengaluru in January.

He can play at the top of the order or in the middle-order and provide a much-needed boost to whichever team he plays for.

If CSK decide to go with Marsh as the replacement for Jadhav, he could probably open the innings along with

#2 Lendl Simmons

Lendl Simmons was brought in as a replacement for Jalaj Saxena for the Mumbai Indians in the 2014 edition of IPL and made an instant impact. He scored 394 runs in just 8 games that season and even scored the first century of the season.

He was sensational in the 2015 season as well as he scored 540 runs in 13 innings at an average of 45 with six half-centuries to his name. He played a key role in Mumbai Indians winning the title that year.

He was quite inconsistent in over the past two years and thus, went unsold this year. However, he will look to get back to form and with Jadhav ruled out, he could be the perfect replacement for the Chennai Super Kings.

#1 Hashim Amla

One of South Africa's most consistent batsmen, Hashim Amla took the IPL by storm last year as he scored two centuries for the Kings XI Punjab. He was in sensational form throughout the tournament and he was expected to be sold for a high price this year.

Unfortunately, he went unsold, much to the surprise of fans around the world.

With CSK in need of a quality opener, Amla could perfectly fit that role and give them the perfect start to an innings.

He has played just 16 matches in the IPL since 2016 and has scored 577 runs at an average of just below 45 with three half-centuries and two centuries to his name.