3 former CSK players who will play for Texas Super Kings in Major League Cricket 2023
Like most franchises, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have tried to bring a sense of uniformity to their teams across T20 leagues. This helps keep the fanbase intact and a 'family-like' feeling going, among other commercial benefits.
For the inaugural Major League Cricket (MLC) tournament in the USA, where they own the Texas Super Kings, they have kept CSK coach Stephen Fleming in the same role and have also signed the Kiwi pair of opener Devon Conway and spinner Mitchell Santner. All three were part of the IPL 2023-winning team.
Texas Super Kings almost signed Ambati Rayudu, who played a crucial cameo in the final and was one of the most loved players at CSK, even after his retirement. However, the middle-order batter took his name off due to "personal reasons".
The franchise replaced him with another popular former CSK player, making it three highly-popular ex-members of the IPL team to transfer to the MLC. One of them is now even a part of a rival team in the Indian league!
Here's a look at them:
#1 Faf du Plessis
Happy Birthday Faf💛💛🔥
Clutch, Big match player, Ellaichami for #Yellove
#WhistleForTexas @faf1307 @ChennaiIPL @TexasSuperKings #WhistlePodu
https://t.co/UztAE4GypL
Currently the captain of CSK's rival, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), in the IPL, Faf du Plessis will lead Texas Super Kings in MLC 2023. The South African opener will reunite with his IPL opening partner Conway at the top of the order.
Du Plessis was once a cult figure in Chennai, having represented the franchise from 2011-2015 and 2018-2021. To date, he's their third-highest run-scorer after Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni with 2721 runs from 92 matches at an average of 35.33.
Du Plessis, who turns 39 today, played a vital role in the franchise winning the 2018 and 2021 IPL titles. Despite not playing half of the season, he scored 67 (42) in the first Qualifier in 2018 and capped off a brilliant 2021 season with a 59-ball 86 in the 2021 final against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Not only has the South African been an Orange Cap contender in his two seasons at RCB, but he has been in stunning form in leagues around the world since leaving the franchise.
#2 CSK's bowling coach Dwayne Bravo
Dwayne Bravo retired from IPL in 2022 and took up the role of CSK's bowling coach for the 2023 season. But the Yellow Army fans can now watch him rewind his yorkers and slower ones and perhaps even the big shots in the USA. the former West Indies all-rounder lead Texas Super Kings' bowling attack alongside Calvin Savage and Rusty Theron.
They'll gain immensely from his wealth of experience, like Tushar Deshpande, Rajvardhan Hangargekar and Akash Singh did in IPL 2023. With 140 wickets, Bravo still leads Ravindra Jadeja by 15 as CSK's highest wicket-taker ever.
He was the five-time IPL champions' biggest match-winner in his prime and won the Purple Cap twice in 2013 and 2015, both in title-clinching causes.
#3 Imran Tahir
Imran Tahir in yellow, again! 🦁💛
#WhistleForTexas #MajorLeagueCricket https://t.co/1otR72dbPK
Another cog in the CSK's 2018-2021 comeback seasons after the two-year ban, Imran Tahir replaced Rayudu in the Texas Super Kings team. The leg-spinner completes their bowling attack, offers competition for Zia Shahzad, and can form a lethal pair with Santner.
The 44-year-old South African picked up 35 wickets for the Chennai-based franchise, more than 40 percent of his IPL wickets. Twenty-six of them came in IPL 2019 where he took the franchise to the final and won the Purple Cap.
A globe-trotter in the truest sense of the word, Tahir continues to defy age and pick up wickets in multiple leagues. Texas Super Kings would hope to see some of his ecstatic and wild celebrations in the USA.