Former champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have not had the best of the start to the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. While they are winless in their past three matches, questions have also been raised on Shane Watson's batting form, and if he should be dropped.
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Watson has featured in all the four matches, so far, while he has managed to score just 52 runs in four innings at a miserable average of 13.00. Meanwhile, he is also featuring for the side in the game against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) on Sunday.
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While questions were being raised to drop Watson for the fifth game, former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir thinks otherwise. He feels that owing to CSK's current rusty batting line-up, it won't be a fair idea to drop Watson.
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“I would never drop Shane Watson, because their entire batting order looks so rusty. Kedar Jadhav looks rusty. Ambati Rayudu looks rusty,” Gambhir was quoted as saying to ESPNCricinfo.
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“I know Shane Watson is not in the best of forms, imagine replacing Shane Watson with Ruturaj Gaekwad? Obviously, he is a young cricket, developing cricket. Or Murali Vijay? I would back Shane Watson for another 4-5 games," he added.
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“I know it’s a tricky situation for MS, but you got to back your best batsman. A batsman who can wins game, if he comes off good. At the moment, he has not, but he can come at any time, you never know,” he concluded.
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Watson has had a prolific career in the IPL, scoring 3,627 runs in 134 innings at an average of 30.50, which includes four centuries and 19 half-centuries. With a strike-rate of 139.00, he is a two-time IPL champion, with Rajasthan Royals (2008) and CSK (2018). He also played for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2016-17.
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