Dawid Malan Can Replace Suresh Raina In CSK Squad: Report

Top-order batsman Suresh Raina left a vacuum when he took back his participation from IPL 2020. Raina has been an integral part of the CSK squad and has been the second highest run-scorer in the IPL. With his departure, the No.3 spot in the CSK squad is up for grabs and the management is still to take a call on it.

Ruturaj Gaikwad could be a likely prospect for CSK. The young batsman can fill in for Raina in IPL 2020. However, according to a media report, prolific England T20 batsman Dawid Malan has been identified as the replacement for Suresh Raina. The discussion are at the preliminary stage and nothing has been finalized as of now.

“These are just discussions, nothing has been finalized as such. Malan is a very accomplished T20 player. He is also a left-hander like Raina. But team management hasn’t taken any final call on whether to call for Raina’s replacement or not’,” an anonymous CSK team source was quoted as saying by InsideSport.

The first T20I between England and Australia went all the way to the wire with the hosts keeping their nerves to take a 1-0 lead. England, asked to bat, posted 162 runs on board with Dawid Malan (66) and Jos Buttler (44) scoring most of the runs for their side. But Australia failed to chase down the target even after a strong start.

Malan continued to bat consistently in yet another T20s and helped his side reach a respectable total.

Earlier, Suresh Raina cleared the air surrounding his departure from Chennai Super Kings (CSK) camp ahead of the IPL 2020. Raina rubbished the reports of his rift with anyone and said that he shares a ‘father and son’ relationship with CSK boss N Srinivasan. He also indicated that it was largely due to the attack on his family in Pathankot that made him take the decision.

Raina’s aunt and cousin were left with several injuries. His bua is critically injured and while his cousin passed away. He had asked the Punjab police to intervene in the matter. The former India cricketer has also cleared now that CSK and MS Dhoni are like family to him and it was a tough decision to make for him. He however cleared that he might return to join the CSK camp again.