Abhinav Mukund: Livingstone, Edwards trade a shift for CSK

Livingstone, Edwards trade signals 'definite shift in thinking' at CSK, says Abhinav Mukund

New Delhi, Nov 11

He also felt the move fills the need for more power in the middle order for CSK and get an overseas all-rounder in the process. In exchange for bringing in Livingstone and Edwards, CSK traded left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed and right-arm fast bowler Nathan Ellis to SRH.

"From CSK's point of view, the trade move for Liam Livingstone and Jack Edwards feels like a definite shift in thinking. They want more power in the middle order, and they want an overseas all-rounder. Liam Livingstone fulfils that gap, as he can go bang-bang with the bat after the younger Indian players.

"Plus, he provides them the option of off-spin bowling, which will come in handy when they go up against sides that have a lot of left-handed batters in their playing XI. Jack Edwards, a brilliant young Australian fast-bowling all-rounder, bats with a high strike rate, chips in with useful bowling spells, and he's a mystery for many teams as he's recently burst onto the scene. CSK can use him as their trump card in the next season of the IPL," said Mukund on JioStar.

Five-time champions CSK have missed the playoffs in the last two seasons, and they are reshaping their squad before the November 17 retention deadline for IPL 2027 under new head coach Zaheer Khan, as well as Albie Morkel, Gareth Batty and Mohit Sharma joining the coaching staff.

Mukund also thought that CSK may still hold on to Australian pacer Spencer Johnson. Also, CSK have a surplus of left-arm seamers, so Khaleel Ahmed moving to SRH need not be a bad thing for CSK, because they've already got Gurjapneet Singh and Mukesh Choudhary, and it looks like they might end up retaining Spencer Johnson."

He also felt the recent trade deal reflected a franchise still working out what it wants to be as a unit, including how it splurged on young players Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma for Rs 14.2 crore each in last year's auction.

"CSK, to me, are a side still struggling to figure out what their correct identity is. They changed their identity from Dad's Army to youth because they found success in Ayush Mhatre and Urvil Patel, so they decided to back Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma.

"But they spent huge amounts to bring them into the squad, and that cost them in the auction and last season as well, because Prashant couldn't perform in the limited number of games. Kartik did well but still couldn't have a major impact in helping them win games.

"I felt that spending over Rs 28 crores on both of them was a bit of a big gamble. Unfortunately, Prashant Veer, for me, goes back into the auction pool, as CSK will need money to sort out the gaps in their squad, which means Prashant will have to be released," added Mukund.

With Livingstone and Edwards joining the overseas group, former India opener Aakash Chopra said settling on the right combination of four foreign players would be one of Zaheer's first big tasks, adding that trades matter more than usual ahead of a mini auction.

"Zaheer Khan is now the man in charge of CSK, and his way of thinking is very different from that of Stephen Fleming, so that combination of four overseas players becomes interesting as well. If Noor Ahmad is not going away and does get retained, he gives CSK a quality left-arm wrist spinner who can pick up wickets in the middle overs.

"There is also Akeal Hosein who can give them overs with the new ball. So that makes it two foreigners. If Overton is fit, he will be a starter too. Dewald Brevis is obviously there as an investment, and he is an automatic pick in the playing XI. He walks into it directly.

"So, with four overseas players in the mix, it is important to have an idea of your overseas combination, because not a lot of talent is going to come to the auction table. That is the story of every mini auction. So, you should do as much trading as you can, but how much you can do depends on what you can offer in return," he added.

— IANS