IPL 2021: CSK sign Dominic Drakes as Sam Curran’s replacement

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) dealt with a huge blow on Tuesday (October 5) when England all-rounder Sam Curran was ruled out of the season with a lower-back injury. The franchise then sought permission from the BCCI to pick up a replacement for Sam and accordingly, CSK have signed the uncapped West Indies all-rounder Dominic Drakes for the remainder of the IPL 2021.

According to the rules, teams can seek replacements before the final game of the league stage. CSK are scheduled to play Punjab Kings at 3:30 PM IST on Thursday which also marks the end of their league phase. They had to look for replacements before the game and reports had suggested four West Indies players – Ravi Rampaul, Dominic Drakes, Fidel Edwards and Sheldon Cottrell – are readily available in the UAE to join the team.

Dominic Drakes has featured in 25 List A and 19 T20 matches as far as white-ball cricket is concerned. The left-handed all-rounder has accounted for 26 and 20 wickets respectively in the two formats. Even though his economy of 8.97 is on the higher side, the 23-year-old is a wicket-taker and can tonk the ball if required down the order. Drakes seems to be a like-for-like replacement for Sam Curran.

He had a brilliant Caribbean Premier League (CPL) season this year where he played a match-winning knock for his team, smashing an unbeaten 48 off just 24 balls with three fours and as many sixes playing for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. Overall, Dominic Drakes scored 102 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 161.90 and was also the joint-fourth highest wicket-taker with 16 scalps in 11 innings.

It remains to be seen CSK directly include him in the playing XI in the playoffs or it is only a precautionary move to have a back-up of Dwayne Bravo.