IPL 2019: 3 noteworthy captains in Chennai Super Kings
Chennai Super Kings is one of those teams which prefer experience over youth. As of now, they do not appear to care if their players growing years will affect them in the long run or not. They just have one goal in mind, and that is to win the IPL trophy.
Their head coach Stephen Fleming commented on the IPL 11 auctions by saying, "I'm not here to develop young players, I'm here to try and win the competition for the franchise. And that's why we value experience because we think that gives us the best chance."
By taking this into account, it is evident that the team might be looking mostly for experienced players in the future. This strategy helped them in the previous edition of the IPL as they won the tournament. Although they prefer experience over youth, CSK are still very picky with whom they bid for in the auctions and are not swayed merely by the previous reputation of a player.
Everyone wanted them to bid for Yuvraj Singh in the IPL 12 auctions but they did not bid for him. The seasoned campaigner Manoj Tiwary had no bidders in the auction and still, CSK did not attempt to buy him.
This shows that Chennai has specific criteria for signing their players. One particular skill they expect from their players is that they need to have the traits of a leader.
From Shane Watson to Narayan Jagadeesan, most of the players in their squad have captained a domestic or an international team at least sparingly.
Here are three noteworthy captains in their squad apart from MS Dhoni whose skills would be vital for CSK in IPL 2019.
3. Faf Du Plessis
Faf du Plessis may not stay with CSK for the entire duration of the IPL. He, like many other players, has the World Cup in his sights and would be ready to leave the cash-rich tournament midway. du Plessis would also want the management to bench him often as it would be good for him before the upcoming World Cup.
Even if he plays very few matches for them he would still prove to be useful for the side. Du Plessis had been around with CSK for a while and he knows what exactly the think tank's needs are. His strategic advice would be vital for them.
Plus a player like du Plessis doesn't need to play many matches to get into the groove. He can come into the playing XI anytime and make an instant impact. During the first qualifier of IPL 11, Chennai was on a verge of losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad but the South African captain's knock of 67 handed Chennai Super Kings the win.
If it wasn't for du Plessis adding 47.86% to their total in the qualifier match, CSK wouldn't have made it to the finals easily.