IPL 2018: Chennai Super Kings squad analysis
The most consistent team of the Indian Premier League and definitely one of the crowd favorites, the Chennai Super Kings, are all set to return to the blockbuster league after facing a suspension for 2 years which raised a lot of eyebrows.
The team, as per tradition, has ensured to retain the core set of players for the coming season. Former Indian Captain MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, who had played for the franchise for 8 years in a row before it was suspended, were all retained by the franchise, prior to the auctions in Bengaluru.
In the auctions, CSK were able to add some more former players to their team and would be happy to have Murali Vijay, Faf Du Plessis and Dwayne Bravo in their squad who know what to expect from the CSK franchise.
CSK also managed to pick players like Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, and Harbhajan Singh all of whom can put up their hands when needed and deliver on the big stage.
Although Harbhajan Singh has not played international cricket recently, he has bowled really well in the Indian Premier League. Even in the last season, when he was representing the Mumbai Indians, he played 11 matches picking up 8 wickets at an economy of under 7 and CSK would want the veteran to continue his good form.
Rayudu too is a smart buy for the Chennai Super Kings. He has been a consistent run-getter in the Indian Premier League (2416 runs from 114 matches in IPL) and can find himself in the middle order straight away. However, Shane Watson’s form (8 matches, scored 71 runs, picked up 5 wickets in IPL 2017) would be an area of concern for CSK as he has not been amidst the runs lately nor has he looked effective with the ball.
From the domestic circuit, the 25-year old Deepak Chahar’s inclusion is a wonderful addition to the yellow brigade. With 29 wickets in 25 T20s, Chahar was an important part of the Rajasthan side that reached the finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
The Delhi batsman Dhruv Shorey is another player to watch out for. Shorey came into headlines when he scored a hundred in the Ranji Trophy finals of the 2017-18 season and averages over 55 in 18 First Class Matches.
Chennai Super Kings take on the defending champions Mumbai Indians, to resume one of the great rivalries of IPL, in the season opener on April 7, 2018, at 8:00 pm (IST)
Squad: 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, N Jagadeesan, Santner, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Kanishk Seth, Ngidi, Dhruv Shorey, M Vijay, Billings, Mark Wood, Kshitiz Sharma, Monu Kumar, Chaitanya Bishnoi