"I am not expecting MS Dhoni to bat too much" - Aakash Chopra picks the Chennai Super Kings' strengths for IPL 2022

MS Dhoni predominantly batted down the order for the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2021 [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra has pointed out some of the Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) biggest strengths heading into IPL 2022.

CSK will look to defend the IPL title they won last year. Another triumph for the four-time champions in the prestigious league will help them draw level with the Mumbai Indians for the most title wins.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra picked MS Dhoni's astute captaincy as one of the franchise's greatest assets. He explained:

"Their strength is the same - they have the experience and they have the smartness. MS Dhoni is the smartest captain ever. He will keep himself at No. 7 or No. 8. I am not expecting MS Dhoni to bat too much nor will he come as well. MS Dhoni is going to be that mentor sort of person who will come to bat once in a while."

While highlighting that Moeen Ali might be unavailable for the tournament opener, the former India cricketer picked the England all-rounder as the Chennai Super Kings' likely game-changer. Chopra elaborated:

"In the form of Moeen Ali, they have an ace in the pack who can actually change the game completely. There is an unavailability issue, there is some issue about his visa, he might miss the first match because it is on the first day itself against KKR."

Ali excelled with both bat and ball for CSK in IPL 2021. The franchise chose him as one of their four retentions ahead of the IPL 2022 Auction due to his exploits last year.

"Chennai Super Kings should make Ravindra Jadeja bat slightly up the order" - Aakash Chopra

Ravindra Jadeja was the Chennai Super Kings' first retention ahead of the auction [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra believes MS Dhoni will extract the best out of Ravindra Jadeja with the bat. He observed:

"I feel they should make Ravindra Jadeja bat slightly up the order and captain Dhoni will do that as well is what I feel. It will be interesting because the sort of grounds that will be there, Moeen Ali could be their game-changer with bat and ball, Ravindra Jadeja with the bat."

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While acknowledging that the Chennai Super Kings might be slightly thin in the bowling department, Aakash Chopra expects the franchise to overcome the shortcoming. Chopra said:

"The pitches will be very good for Ruturaj Gaikwad. The bowling does look slightly weaker than earlier because of Deepak Chahar's unavailability at the start, there is no Shardul Thakur, Adam Milne is not in the same category as Josh Hazlewood but this team still manages."

Deepak Chahar's likely absence due to injury could be the biggest blow to the Chennai Super Kings' title aspirations. They will hope that the swing bowler is back to full fitness at the earliest as his services will be required with the new ball.

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