At IPL 2022 mega auction, while the focus was on the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kagiso Rabada, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) – who are known not to go deep into their pockets at auctions, quietly bought Devon Conway for his base price of Rs 1 crore. Conway, who has been in brilliant form for New Zealand in all the formats, wasn’t expected to attract many bids but nor was he expected to find just a single bid from a franchise either.
Going into an auction, a huge amount of time is spent by franchises discussing players who would be on their radar. However, it is quite surprising that the franchises did not see anything special in Conway – who has been in sensational form for MS Dhoni & Co.
In the match against Delhi Capitals (DC), Conway hammered 87 runs off 49 balls to help the Yellow Brigade post a match-winning total of 208 runs. Even in the previous game, Conway scored 56 runs off 37 balls to emerge as the top scorer for CSK. It has been a hat-trick of half-centuries for Conway which started with a well-crafted 55-ball 85* against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
After his knock against DC, cricket pundits could not but compare his knock with former CSK player Michael Hussey. “A late bloomer lefty from down under who plays spin well, had a great start to international career, and now doing well opening the batting for CSK. Sounds familiar @mhussey393 ? #CSKvDC #IPL2022,” tweeted Wasim Jaffer.
After the match, Conway said it a special for him to be compared with Hussey – who is CSK’s batting coach. “I have heard that a few times now, which is quite good. To be compared to one of the greats, Mike Hussey, is pretty special. It feels good to be possibly in that bracket. He has got so much knowledge, so much experience, not only in the IPL but throughout the world. It’s very important for me as a player to continue talking to him and learning from him and keep working hard,” Conway said in the post-match press conference.
In a tournament where the top three batsmen usually set the tone for the match, CSK have found a new star in Conway. Based on Conway’s current form, the top brass of the other nine franchises would be wondering what did their data teams not see in the Kiwi batsman.
And even CSK didn’t see Conway as an automatic choice in their playing XI as the left-hander has played just four out of CSK’s 11 matches this season. But just like Ruturaj Gaikwad, once he has rediscovered his form, Conway is expected to be in CSK’s scheme of things for a long time.
