Indian T20 League 2022: Predicting first-choice overseas players of Chennai

The 15th season of the Indian T20 League is right around the corner as the tournament will start on March 26. This year, the ITL will be different as two new teams - Lucknow and Gujarat - will play for the first time in the league. Also, not to forget, teams have gone through an overhaul in their squads after the mega auction held last month. Last year, teams were allowed to retain only a maximum of four players.

Virat Kohli remains the only player to play for one team in all seasons, i.e. Bangalore. Meanwhile, Chennai is the only team to have bought back most of its players as they retained Moeen Ali ahead of the auction and bought back players such as Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar and Mitchell Santner amongst others in the mega auction.

In this listicle, we will discuss the four overseas players, who will make in the playing XI for the four-time winners on March 26, when they play against Kolkata.

Chennai's first-choice overseas players:

1. Moeen Ali

The England all-rounder was good with the bat last year. The left-handed all-rounder Moeen Ali amassed 357 runs in 15 games averaging 25.50 and striking at 137.30 with most of the runs coming in the first leg of the season i.e India. In the second leg in the UAE, he couldn't replicate his form but has the ability to clear the boundary with ease and attack the spinners in the middle overs.

Ali batted at number three for the team and is expected to play the same role this year. The 34-year-old also provides a spin bowling option, who can bowl in the middle overs if need be.

2. Devon Conway

The South Africa-born New Zealand opening batter Devon Conway was bought by Chennai last month. Conway can not just only open the batting but also bat in the middle-order. Last year, during the T20 World Cup, finalists New Zealand utilised him as middle-order and he showcased that he can play comfortably in that slot as well.

It is highly likely that he will bat in the same position with openers such as Ruturaj Gaikwad and Robin Uthappa already in the squad.

3. Dwayne Bravo

The former West Indies is still very effective in the T20 format. Dwayne Bravo was bought back by the Yellow brigade last month which is no surprise his contributions for the team since 2011.

He took 14 wickets in 11 games averaging just 18.78 last year. Even after his retirement from the international circuit, his prowess in the slog overs will come in handy for the team in the ten-team tournament.

4. Chris Jordan

Another Englishman has joined the team this year. Chris Jordan is a slog-overs specialist with both bat and ball. In the ITL, while playing for Bangalore and Punjab in the last six years, he has picked 25 wickets in 24 games averaging 27.9 and has an economy of 9.12 so far. In T20Is, he strikes at 132.10 with the bat.