Here's why Narayan Jagadeesan got dropped from CSK playing XI for the match against SRH

The Chennai Super Kings returned to the winning track last night in IPL 2020 with a fantastic victory over the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The MS Dhoni-led franchise batted first and successfully defended the target of 168 runs in Dubai. 

In their last seven matches, the Super Kings had never got a chance to bat first. Since CSK won batting first against SRH, the team management will likely continue this strategy going forward. 

Talking about their strategies, the 3-time IPL champions had made one change to their playing XI last night. They dropped Narayan Jagadeesan to include leg-spin bowler Piyush Chawla in the team. It is noteworthy that Jagadeesan had impressed on his IPL debut against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He unluckily got run out after the required run rate was rising. 

The fans were wondering the reason behind the decision to exclude Jagadeesan from the playing XI. They had given Kedar Jadhav many opportunities to showcase his talent, and after he could not get going, they gave Jagadeesan his maiden IPL cap. 

MS Dhoni revealed the reason during the post-match interview at the presentation ceremony. Here’s what Dhoni had to say about the combination of the CSK XI. 

“We used an extra spinner because an Indian batter hasn't done well for us. That's why Sam Curran went up and it wasn't fair on Jagadeesan as well to bat at seven or eight. Sam Curran is a complete cricketer for us. You need a seaming all-rounder, he plays the spinners well and he can give us those 15-45 runs. A good left armer is always good to have in the side.”

Thus, Chennai Super Kings made the tough call to drop Jagadeesan because the Indian batsmen had not done well for them in the middle order. Sam Curran opened the innings for CSK, which allowed Shane Watson to bat at number 3.