IPL 2018: Analysing Chennai Super Kings' strengths and weaknesses

The 11th edition of the IPL is expected to be a cracker as two franchises, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals will return after serving a two-year ban.

Chennai Super Kings have been the talk of the town ever since the auction in which, according to most, they performed quite poorly. However, they still have enough talent in their ranks to go all the way.

The CSK squad for the 11th edition of IPL:

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

On that note, let's analyse CSK's strengths and weaknesses ahead of IPL 2018:

Strengths

#1 Spin department

Chennai Super Kings have a well-balanced spin department. With a lot of experienced spinners in the mix, CSK look a very formidable bowling side, especially considering the spin-friendly nature of the tracks back home. CSK have the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Imran Tahir, Harbhajan Singh and Mitchell Santner in their ranks along with Karn Sharma.

It is important to note that the Chennai-based franchise will be playing half of their matches at the Chepauk stadium which has always favoured the spinners.

#2 Experience

The secondary strength of this CSK squad is the amount of experience that they carry. With the likes of MS Dhoni, Faf du Plessis, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, Imran Tahir and Suresh Raina in the side, CSK are the most experienced side on paper. Thus, they will rely heavily on their experienced campaigners.