Former Indian batter Subramaniam Badrinath slammed the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) think tank after their recent four-player trade deal with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Notably, CSK roped in Liam Livingstone and Jack Edwards from SRH, while leaving Khaleel Ahmed and Nathan Ellis.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Badrinath said CSK made these trades out of desperation, adding that Livingstone wouldn’t get many chances in the XI while Edwards is an unknown commodity.
“Livingstone is sitting at a high price in SRH and they did not even play him. Edwards is an unknown commodity. What do you expect by making trades like this? To me, it is nothing but desperation. It is desperation rather than a proper trade, where you give a good player and take a good player. This is not that kind of a trade,” Badrinath said on his YouTube channel.
Further, Badrinath reckoned that Khaleel is one of India’s premium left-arm pacers, who can bowl in the powerplay and death overs. He went on to add that Nathan Ellis has emerged as one of the best death bowlers in the shortest format.
“I think not just a little, CSK are extremely desperate. I feel these kinds of trades are happening out of desperation. Liam Livingstone and Jack Edwards are two foreign players. Khaleel is a premier Indian left-arm fast bowler, Ellis is currently one of the best death bowlers in T20 cricket. Khaleel does well in the powerplay and has bowled in the death as well,” he stated.
“It is very rare to find good Indian fast bowlers. It is very difficult. And Khaleel is someone who you had already groomed. I don’t know what was the reason for giving him away. You should have held onto him. You need Indian fast bowlers. There are plenty of overseas players like Livingstone and Edwards, and you can find a lot of them. But finding an Indian fast bowler is difficult,” he concluded.
