Indian T20 League 2023 - 3 players to watch out for in Gujarat vs Chennai tournament opener

Gujarat and Chennai are set to lock horns with each other in the tournament opener of the Indian T20 League 2023. The Narendra Modi Stadium of Ahmedabad will host this match today just a few hours after from 7.30 pm. Notably, Hardik Pandya’s Gujarat are the defending champions of the tournament as they lifted the title in the first-ever appearance in the Indian T20 League.

Apart from that, Chennai, under the captaincy of former legendary Indian skipper MS Dhoni, will fight for their fifth title in the tournament. Interestingly, this edition of the tournament will be played once again in its old home-and-away format.

Coming back to the match between Gujarat and Chennai, the eyes will be one the big names in both teams. With said that, here we’ll have a look at the three players to watch out for in the high-voltage match between Dhoni’s men against Hardik Pandya & co.

Ravindra Jadeja

The star Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja didn’t have an expected outing in the last year’s edition during the Indian T20 League 2022. He also failed as captain while leading the team in a couple of initial matches of the tournament; apart from that, he also failed to live up to the expectations with the bat and the ball.

But, he has been in brilliant form in white-ball cricket including both ODI and T20I formats. He recently made some remarkable performances in the recently-concluded bilateral clash against Australia. Considering his current form, the 34-year-old could be a crucial factor for the yellow outfits in the tournament opener against Gujarat.

Ben Stokes

The star England all-rounder and Test skipper Ben Stokes was picked by the four-time champions Chennai in the mini-auction of the Indian T20 League 2023. The management spent INR 16.25 crores to acquire the services of the 31-year-old. Earlier, Stokes had impressed everyone with his all-round performances in the Indian T20 League.

Speaking of his stats, he has appeared in 43 matches since his debut in the Indian franchise tournament five or six years back in the year 2017. In these matches, he has smashed two centuries and two half-centuries alongside 28 wickets with the ball. The veteran all-rounder might prove himself an asset in the season opener for Chennai.

Rashid Khan

The star Afghan bowling all-rounder and national skipper, Rashid Khan, has recently proved his excellence in the shortest format of the game. Rashid led Afghanistan to a historic T20I series win by 2-1 in a three-match series against Pakistan. He has scalped 129 wickets in 80 T20Is so far while playing in Afghanistan colors.

The 24-year-old has also some outstanding numbers to his name in the Indian T20 League as well; he has scalped 112 wickets in 92 innings of the 92 matches including a best figure of 4/24. He could be a great factor for the defending champions Gujarat in the tournament opener against MS Dhoni’s men.