IPL Auction 2020: 3 players who can replace Sam Billings at Chennai Super Kings

The Chennai Super Kings franchise have released their overseas wicket-keeper batsman Sam Billings ahead of the 2020 IPL auction. The Englishman played 11 matches for the team in his two-year tenure with them.

Although Billings is a talented player, he wasn't a standout performer in the team. His only notable performance while playing for CSK was against Kolkata Knight Riders, where he contributed 56 runs off 23 balls in a winning cause.

Because of the presence of experienced overseas batsmen like Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis, Billings found it quite hard to break into the CSK Playing XI. Additionally, a shoulder injury ruled him out of action in the 2019 IPL.

After releasing Billings, CSK could target an overseas wicket-keeper batsman similar to him. As the aging MS Dhoni and the inexperienced Narayan Jagadeesan are the only Indian wicket-keepers in the team, CSK could look for a like-for-like replacement for Billings.

Here are the three possible candidates to replace Billings in the CSK squad.

Also see - England New Zealand head to head

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#3 Tim Seifert

Tim Seifert

New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert could be a dark horse in the upcoming IPL auction. He produced some splendid batting performances against India and England in T20Is on their respective tours of New Zealand during 2019.

With 139 runs in 3 matches at a series-best average of 46.33, the 24-year-old proved his batting abilities against the Men in Blue. Moreover, in the T20I series decider against England, Seifert scored a 16-ball 39 which helped the Kiwis post a total of 146 off just 11 overs.

During the 2017-18 Super Smash, Seifert scored a 40-ball century, which is the fastest in a domestic T20 competition in New Zealand. Overall in domestic T20s, The 24-year-old has scored 1178 runs in 61 innings.

Sharing the dressing room with legends like MS Dhoni, Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis would help Seifert develop his batting further. As a fellow New Zealander, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming would love to groom Seifert.

#2 Brandon King

Brandon King

Brandon King is an explosive right-handed opening wicketkeeper-batsman who has scored 763 runs in 30 T20 matches. Although his full potential has not yet been displayed on the international scene, King made a name for himself during the 2019 Caribbean Premier League.

In that tournament, the 24-year-old was second to none in terms of run-scoring, with 496 runs in 12 matches at an average of 55.11. King also notched up the highest individual score in CPL history (132* runs from 72 balls).

West Indies players have always made a positive impact on IPL teams. Even in the Super Kings squad, players like Dwayne Smith and Dwayne Bravo have made crucial contributions in the past. An opener like King could be a similar game-changer for the team.

As Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis are aging, CSK can use King to lighten their workload. If the player can replicate his CPL form in the IPL, then CSK would have a formidable overseas opener for years to come.

#1 Tom Banton

Tom Banton

England's Tom Banton is the new sensation in the world of T20 cricket. The young Somerset wicketkeeping-batsman has used the domestic scene perfectly to capture the attention of everyone in the cricketing fraternity.

Big Bash franchise Brisbane Heat have signed him up for the 2019-20 season. Likewise, the Qalandars have also taken him on board for the 2019 T10 League. The two illustrious contracts in possession of the 21-year-old show how much impact he has made already.

In the 2019 T20 Blast, Banton scored 549 runs in 13 innings at an average of 42.23 and a strike rate of 161.47. That aggregate is the second-highest in any T20 league for a player 21 or below, after Rishabh Pant's 684 in the 2018 IPL.

A recent report by The Daily Mail revealed that CSK and Mumbai Indians have enquired with Somerset about the availability of Banton. After the release of Billings, Banton could well be No. 1 in CSK's list of potential replacements.