The Chennai Super Kings faced a five-wicket defeat in their last match of the 2022 Indian Premier League against Rajasthan Royals on Friday night. While CSK skipper MS Dhoni uplifted the spirits of the franchise's fans by confirming that he will return to the tournament next year, their poor outing in the season left much to be desired. The Super Kings lost 10 games in the season and saw a back-and-forth in captaincy, with Ravindra Jadeja being named the skipper at the start of the season and the all-rounder handing the leadership duty back to Dhoni after eight games. Follow IPL 2022 Coverage
Throughout the season, a number of youngsters made their debut appearances for CSK as well; however, one player who didn't feature for the franchise is Rajvardhan Hangargekar. The promising youngster, who played a major role in India's U19 World Cup victory earlier this year, was picked by the franchise in the mega auction preceding the season.
CSK skipper MS Dhoni opened up on why the 19-year-old didn't make an appearance for the side this year.
“He's somebody who bowls good length, he bowls at a decent pace, gets a bit of bounce. But at a level like this, what's important is to also give him time to improve some of the other areas,” Dhoni explained during the toss ahead of the game against RR.
{{/usCountry}}“He's somebody who bowls good length, he bowls at a decent pace, gets a bit of bounce. But at a level like this, what's important is to also give him time to improve some of the other areas,” Dhoni explained during the toss ahead of the game against RR.
{{/usCountry}}“Because, when you come from U19 and you have not played a lot of first-class cricket, you don't want to just throw them in. You want them to have enough ammunition in their armory. What if you are under pressure? So, we want to groom players but we want to give them enough opportunity to prepare themselves and get into the deeper side.
“He's somebody we are really excited about because he's strong, but there are certain areas where we want him to improve. This is what this year has been all about. The bowling coaches and the senior players working with him.”