Chennai Super Kings have the best all-round bowling attack in IPL 2020: Aakash Chopra
Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has opined that the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have the best all-round bowling attack in IPL 2020. He made this observation while doing a SWOT analysis of the franchise in a video shared on his YouTube channel.
Aakash Chopra picked the CSK captain MS Dhoni as the franchise's biggest strength, and called him the soul of the squad.
"Chennai Super Kings biggest strength is MS Dhoni. In general, you don't make one player so big that the whole franchise depends on him. MS Dhoni is the soul of Chennai Super Kings."
He added that Chennai Super Kings would always be amongst the front-runners in the IPL as long as MS Dhoni is at the helm of the affairs.
"Till the time MS Dhoni is there, Chennai Super Kings' heart will be beating and the team is running at the forefront. So, their biggest strength is MS Dhoni the player and MS Dhoni the captain."
Chennai Super Kings' other strengths pointed out by Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra opted for the Chennai Super Kings' spin-bowling attack as their second biggest strength, even with Harbhajan Singh having pulled out of the tournament.
"Their second biggest strength is their spin department. There might have been a slight loss because of the absence of Harbhajan Singh but they still have Santner, Jadeja, Tahir, Karn Sharma and Piyush Chawla."
He reasoned that the spinners would be very effective on the UAE pitches, which would offer more grip and turn as the tournament progresses.
"If a team has five such spinners, out of which you can play two or three any time, then with the UAE conditions as the tournament progresses you will see the spinners showing their wares and that's when they will come to the fore."
The former KKR player also spoke highly of the Chennai Super Kings' seam bowling attack, with the likes of Deepak Chahar, Sam Curran, Shardul Thakur, Josh Hazlewood, Lungi Ngidi and Dwayne Bravo in their squad.
"In fact, if you talk about their all-round bowling attack, then you will also find Chahar, Sam Curran, Shardul Thakur, Josh Hazlewood, Ngidi and Dwayne Bravo. That means they have a terrific bowling lineup."
Aakash Chopra even labelled the Chennai Super Kings as the best all-round bowling attack in IPL 2020.
"I think if we talk about all-round bowling attack, Chennai Super Kings are at the top."
Aakash Chopra picked CSK's Indian batsmen as their other strength, due the presence of MS Dhoni, Murali Vijay, Kedar Jadhav and Ambati Rayudu. He also acknowledged that Suresh Raina's absence might have hampered them a little in this area.
"Their third strength is the Indian batting they have got. If Raina had been there, it would have been even better. But Dhoni, Vijay, Kedar, Ambati Rayudu - if you have these 4 Indian batsmen in your top six where spin will do well, that is another strength."
Chennai Super Kings' biggest strength over the years has been their close-knit unit, which has been admirably led by their talismanic captain MS Dhoni. They are the only franchise to have reached the knockout stage in each of the seasons they have been part of the IPL, and would hope to continue the streak this year as well.