Arguably the world’s biggest and most expensive league, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to kick off its 18th season, with 5-time champions Chennai Super Kings eager to prove a point.
The men in yellow endured an average season in 2024, finishing at 5th in the table. Ruturaj Gaikwad captaining Chennai Super Kings meant it was the dawn of a new era for the 5-time champions – but it wasn’t to be. CSK won 7 matches, lost the same amount as well, and did not look as clinical as they are used to being, having won the prestigious title twice in the last 5 seasons.
Chennai Super Kings preview and strengths
Heading into this season, Chennai relied on their mantra of “stirred, not shaken” and retained a core of 5 players which included: captain Ruturaj Gaikward, spinning all-rounder and part of the ICC Test Team of the Year Ravindra Jadeja, middle order batter Shivam Dube, Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana and the veteran wicketkeeper, MS Dhoni.
In the auction, they bought back a few players they were unable to retain in the form of the New Zealand duo Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra. They splurged INR 19.75 crores on Ravi Ashwin and Noor Ahmed, who have the potential to form a formidable trio along with Jadeja in their spin-friendly home conditions.
Other underrated buys from the auction included; English all-rounders Sam Curran and Jamie Overton, pacer Khaleel Ahmed, top-order batter Rahul Tripathi, and Australian speedster Nathan Ellis.
Furthermore, the acquisitions of Deepak Hooda, Jamie Overton, Shreyas Gopal, Gurjapneet Singh, Mukesh Chaudhary, and Anshul Kamboj means they have quality backups for every player in their starting lineup. Having a good blend of left-arm and right-arm pacers, an off-spinner, a left-arm spinner, and a chinaman – ensures flexibility in both home and away games.
The top-order trio of Gaikwad, Conway, and Tripathi not only possess the ability to give their side good starts in the powerplay but also can maintain the run rate in the middle overs. Shivam Dube in the middle order, is a proven spin hitter and has the ability to go berserk in the middle overs.
To bolster their batting depth further, Ravi Ashwin can be used as a surprise package up the order and also provide the finishing touches to the innings, having reinvented his T20 batting most recently in the Tamil Nadu Premier League.
Chennai Super King’s weaknesses
Despite possessing such a balanced roster, a lot will depend on the form of their players, and the spin trio, in particular, will need to step up to provide the Chennai Super Kings with any chance of winning. Even though, since 2023, Jadeja and Ashwin have an economy rate of 7.8 and 7.9, they average 32 and 41 balls per wicket – a stat that will need to change.
The Super Kings also have a lack of firepower in their batting lineup, with their death-over strike rate of 167.01, primarily due to MS Dhoni’s cameos in the end. Remove his performances, and that strike rate drops to 152.5. They also lost the auction battle regarding players like Liam Livingstone, Glenn Maxwell, and Marcus Stoinis, who could have provided them firepower towards the end.
Sam Curran – another quality buy – mostly operates as a floater, Jadeja’s finishing skills are declining as well, and Ashwin is not a known finisher. The onus will be on a not-so-fit and old MS Dhoni to provide the finishing touches to their innings.
Chennai Super Kings Probable XI
Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, Shivam Dube, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravi Ashwin, Matheesha Pathirana, Khaleel Ahmed. Impact player: Noor Ahmad.
