IPL 2018 – Chennai Super Kings Team Preview

Captain: Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Coach: Stephen Fleming.

Home Ground: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.

IPL 2017 Result: Did not play.

Best Result: Champions in 2010, 2011.

Released: Baba Aparajith, Samuel Badree, Eklavya Dwivedi, Michael Hussey, Brendon McCullum, Ronit More, Ashish Nehra, Irfan Pathan, Rahul Sharma, Andrew Tye, Kyle Abbott, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ankush Bains, Matt Henry, Mithun Manhas, Pawan Negi, Ishwar Pandey, Pratyush Singh, Mohit Sharma, Dwayne Smith.

Purchased: Faf du Plessis, Harbhajan Singh, Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, ~~Kedar Jadhav~~, Ambati Rayudu, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Jagadeesan Narayan, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Lungi Ngidi, Kanishk Seth, Dhruv Shorey, Murali Vijay, Sam Billings, Mark Wood, Kshitiz Sharma, Monu Singh, Chaitanya Bishnoi, David Willey.

Had they not been suspended from the Indian Premier League for 2 years, Chennai Super Kings would’ve probably become the first team to win the IPL title thrice, before Mumbai Indians. Right from the inaugural season, they have been led by none other than Mahendra Singh Dhoni and he led them to becoming the only team to win the title twice in successive years.

They have always been a champion side and probably the most consistent team in the IPL as well, but will they big able to gel as a unit the same way, after a 2 year break? Also, keep in mind that while experience is one of the most important aspects in any sports, CSK may have a little too much experience, so much that people are even calling them an ‘ageing team’.

Let’s look at some of the ages in the squad:

Shane Watson – 36 years
Imran Tahir – 38 years
Harbhajan Singh – 37 years
MS Dhoni – 36 years

The trio of Jadeja, Raina and Dhoni have played a lot of cricket together and they will be vital to the team’s success, along with the acquisition of Dwayne Bravo, a bowler who has won the Purple Cap (most wickets) twice before in the Indian Premier League. However, this is the first time I’m looking at a CSK team that lacks firepower. Their possible openers are Murali Vijay and Sam Billings/Shane Watson.

Chennai Super Kings Squad for IPL 2018:

MS Dhoni (c), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Faf du Plessis, Harbhajan Singh, Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, ~~Kedar Jadhav~~, Ambati Rayudu, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Jagadeesan Narayan, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Lungi Ngidi, Kanishk Seth, Dhruv Shorey, Murali Vijay, Sam Billings, Mark Wood, Kshitiz Sharma, Monu Singh, Chaitanya Bishnoi, David Willey.

With the ball, they’ve added Karn Sharma to the squad, picked up for a whopping Rs. 5 crore at the IPL 2018 auction, but the veteran Harbhajan Singh may be a better option, even though he was picked up at base price. Again, with the exception of the ageing Imran Tahir, there’s no X-factor, wicket-taking bowler in the squad. Even though I love CSK and MS Dhoni, I don’t see this team qualifying for the IPL 2018 play-offs.

Chennai Super Kings Squad for IPL 2018:

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