With the rising number of franchise leagues originating from England, local players have become habitual to fast-paced action. One prime example of such a player is Phil Salt, who is one of the finest young players in the Three Lions setup. Since entering domestic cricket in 2015/16, Salt has been consistent in delivering goods for Sussex and also made his international debut in 2021.
Earlier this year, Salt returned as the joint-highest run-scorer for England in the Netherlands ODI series with 248 runs in three innings. He continued his strong showing in T20 Blast, while scoring 390 runs in 14 innings. Further, he hit 353 runs in 10 innings and was the second-highest run-scorer in the Hundred 2022. With terrific white-ball proficiency, he must be on the radar among a few franchises.
1. Chennai Super Kings
Chennai Super Kings finished at the penultimate position in the table with four wins in 14 league matches in 2022. The team was inconsistent with their contributions in the batting department, despite the presence of experienced batters. They released Robin Uthappa ahead of the mini-auction, who played at the opening slot and the No.3/ No.4 position.
As the squad stands, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway will continue to don the role of opener. However, management dropped Conway in a few of the matches last season due to his low scores. In this regard, Salt can be a backup opener for CSK, in case Conway fails to produce consistent performances.
Moreover, the franchise released overseas players like Adam Milne and Chris Jordan, while Dwayne Bravo is now the bowling coach. With Ravindra Jadeja and Maheesh Theekshana as the spin options, CSK might overlook Mitchell Santner and rather play with one overseas batter in form of Phil Salt, at the top or middle-order.
2. Gujarat Titans
Titans were sublime with their all-round brilliance to secure a title trophy in the 2022 edition of the cash-rich T20 league. However, they decided to release their premier pacer Lockie Ferguson and top-order batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz. At present, the team consists of only two overseas batters in form of David Miller and Matthew Wade.
Australia keeper Wade has been out of colour in his recent international outings and was average for the Titans in 2022 as well. The management would surely be looking to enhance their batting firepower in the overseas slots.
Salt has been a regular wicket-keeper in the last few years for his domestic side and England as well. With his presence, the team gets an agile gloveman, batter who has an experience of churning out runs in every situation of a T20 fixture.
3. Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders have been deprived of quality overseas batters after releasing too many players ahead of the auction. The inability of Aaron Finch and Ajinkya Rahane to provide a good start in 2022, paved the way for their exit from the franchise. Further, Alex Hales, Sam Billings and Pat Cummins opted out of the contract in favour of their international career.
As a result, the team management will be focussing on the batting front. With Rahmanullah Gurbaz displaying his merit in shorter formats, he is likely to be the team’s opener in 2023. Alongside him can be Salt, who can play the role of an anchor or produce quickfire innings.
The team’s bowling department will be handled by Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, who will take up two overseas spots. With Cummins’ exit, Southee is the preferred new-ball pacer for KKR. It remains to be seen the strategy of the franchise to secure services of overseas batters.
4. Punjab Kings
Punjab have always had a terrific batting line-up but failed to cash in opportunity at the right time. In the last edition, the team had the presence of Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone, but failed to seal the playoffs spot.
With Agarwal getting released, the team needs a reliable scorer in the line-up. He can be an opener alongside Dhawan or come at No.3 to continue the momentum. Generally, Kings go with an attacking mindset, but they still need one or two batters to play an anchor role, which might force Dhawan to go with Salt who has played a lot of T20s.
Furthermore, an all-important Ashes 2023 will take place in mid-June, while IPL will get over in the last week of May. The likes of Bairstow and Livingstone are the England probables and might leave the camp early, while Salt is a pure white-ball batter and can be their backups as well.
5. Rajasthan Royals
It was the best IPL season for Rajasthan Royals after winning the inaugural edition in 2008. They emerged as the runners-up, with a fine batting line-up and experienced bowlers. At the top, Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal were terrific to secure a quick start for the team.
However, Sanju Samson and Devdutt Padikkal were the only reliable run-scorers for the team in the middle-overs. The Sanju Samson-led side released Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham and Rassie Van Der Dussen, who could not be proficient with their performances.
With Buttler having a good knowledge of Salt’s abilities, he might vouch for the 25-year-old in the upcoming auction. Certainly, the team needs a quality overseas batters in the middle, and Salt might play the role of a finisher for RR.
from CricTracker https://ift.tt/ZifcPBC
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