After a splendid series, spearheading England to a clean sweep 3–0 victory against South Africa all eyes are on the №1 T20 batsman Dawid Malan. The 33-year-old left-hander who relegated Pakistan’s Babar Azam to the 2nd position earlier this year has proven to be a solid and highly efficient player in this format of cricket. Having scored 10 half-centuries over 19 matches, his tenacity has brought him into the discussion of the most sought-after players in the 2021 IPL Auctions. Being a consistent performer, he proves to be a prospective player that the Chennai Super Kings very much need.
With a conversion factor of 0.45, the southpaw has his way of accelerating the score once he settles. For a team that had a harrowing IPL this season, Malan could be an excellent opening option or even bat at number three. His ability to rotate strike, add momentum to the game, and play with aggression would be a massive asset. Furthermore, he has experience playing in Asian leagues such as the Bangladesh Premier League and Pakistan Super League.
Adept at batting as we know, he also makes a good fielder with a safe pair of hands by stopping runs in the covers during the powerplay and acting as a sweeper in the death overs.
As we all witnessed over the last two years, CSK struggled to battle it out in the middle overs. Malan with a strike rate of 149.475 and 57.67 % of his total runs coming from the middle overs in T20 competitions all around the world in the last two years, makes him the most befitting antidote to the team’s slothful strike rate.
One could surmise that the significant percentage of dot balls from their batsmen, in the middle overs is what hindered lions. The below graphic shows Malan’s strike rotation alongside other CSK players in the past two years. He also plays attacking shots during overs 7 to 15, averaging 5.5 balls per boundary.
On the downside, Chepauk stadium is known for its slow, spin-friendly track which offers an extra drift for spinners and medium pace bowlers.
Dawid has a history of being dismissed in the powerplay by right and left-arm slow bowlers 15 and 3 times respectively. Opposition teams will look forward to bring in slow and spin bowlers who will be favored by the slow pitches.
Another point of concern would be, much like Shane Watson he takes time to gather pace and unleash in the middle overs. The team has been averaging a 32/1 during the powerplay with an unimpressive team strike rate of 106.1, over the last 2 years, failing to capitalize the field restrictions.
Nevertheless, the benefits of having Malan outweigh the challenges making him a very good fit for CSK. With his potential on the rise and best cricketing years ahead, he can play his natural game provided that the other opener compliments his game. Once settled there is no turning back and he can be a match-winner with his brute power and can take games till the end. If he adapts to the so slow pitches of the den, we have got our next Hayden.
