Why is Mitchell Santner Not Playing in IPL 2023 for CSK?

Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni hasn’t needed a lot of time to let his spinners dictate terms at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in the ongoing 16th season of the Indian Premier League.

A venue which has a history of being conducive for spin bowling in low-scoring matches had produced a couple of high-scoring contests earlier this month. Having said that, IPL 2023 Match 29 seems to have brought back Chepauk’s reputation back in the public space.

As a result, the development witnessed Dhoni playing around with his spinners to not let Sunrisers Hyderabad post a challenging target on Friday. Dhoni, who himself contributed in three dismissals, is highly likely to attain success in home matches this season especially if Chennai’s pitch continues to behave in the same manner.

Dhoni, who had bowled spinners for nine and 10 overs in the first two matches in the city, produced 10 overs from three spinners tonight. A major difference between the previous and the latest match was the success secured by the likes of Maheesh Theekshana (1/27), Moeen Ali (0/12) and Ravindra Jadeja (3/22).

Why is Mitchell Santner Not Playing in IPL 2023 for CSK?

Taking into consideration how Dhoni and astute spinners have been a win-win situation for both the parties over the years, Dhoni has three more spin-bowling options in New Zealand all-rounder Mitchell Santner and uncapped Indian spinners namely Prashant Solanki and Bhagath Varma.

While Santner has played three IPL 2023 matches, Solanki and Varma continue to wait for an opportunity this season. Unlike several of his teammates, Santner isn’t injured. It’s just that he is finding it difficult to be among Super Kings’ four overseas players just like the previous seasons of the IPL.

A primary reason for Santner to be left out is Theekshana joining the squad after getting relieved from national duty. Not that he hasn’t played alongside Jadeja at CSK, but the two being like-for-like cricketers has mostly affected Santner’s (being an overseas player) chances of making it to the team’s Playing XI.

It is due to the same reason that Santner has played only 15 IPL matches since making his debut in 2019. Been with this franchise since then, the southpaw has picked 13 wickets at an economy and strike rate of 6.88 and 24 respectively.