IPL 13: Watson Believes Vijay Can Be Apt Replacement For Raina In CSK's Playing XI For Upcoming Season

CSK's premier seam allrounder Shane Watson is of the opinion that it will be 'incredibly hard' to replace a batsman of Raina's pedigree in the 'Yellow Brigade' but exuded confidence that CSK have enough balance and squad depth to deal with his absence.

3-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will play the thirteenth season of the IPL without the services of two of their most consistent and dependable performers in Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh. The hard hitting left handed batsman Raina and the front-line off spinner Harbhajan Singh pulled out from the upcoming edition of the IPL citing personal reasons amid the persistent Covid-19 threat in the middle east nation. With CSK yet to name a replacement for both these superstars, speculations are rife over who could fit in the bill and step into the big shoes of these two IPL greats in the impending edition of the T20 league. CSK's premier seam allrounder Shane Watson is of the opinion that it will be 'incredibly hard' to replace a batsman of Raina's pedigree in the 'Yellow Brigade' but exuded confidence that CSK have enough balance and squad depth to deal with his absence. "We have to (deal with the absence of Raina, Harbhajan). The great thing with CSK, as with all IPL squads, they have a lot of depth. It's going to be incredibly hard to replace Suresh Raina. You can't. He scored the second-most runs in the IPL, played the most games in IPL history. He has got records left, right and centre," said Watson on a YouTube show hosted by Quetta Gladiators' head of player acquisitions, Nabeel Hashmi. "He is going to be hugely missed, knowing the conditions in the UAE is hot, more chances of wickets being more dry and turning a bit more. Raina plays spin incredibly well as well," he added. Watson, who has been a major cog in CSK's high successful stint for two seasons now, believes Raina's departure will pave way for opener Murali Vijay to get more opportunities in the playing eleven for the upcoming season. Watson hailed Vijay a gun T20 player and threw a hint of sorts at the right-hander replacing the highly experienced Raina in the CSK playing XI for IPL 2020. It is notable that Vijay has played only three games for CSK in the past two seasons, scoring 76 runs. Raina has been CSK's batting spearhead along with MS Dhoni, Faf Du Plessis, S Badrinath and Murali Vijay for many seasons and is the franchise's highest run-getter in IPL history.