IPL 2019: SWOT analysis of the Chennai Super Kings squad
The story of the defending champions Chennai Super Kings is no less than a Bollywood story with a happy ending.
The franchise was suspended for two seasons, and when the team came back their home ground was taken away from them. In the 2018 season they were playing at a place which was actually neutral for both the teams.
However, despite all the problems and consequences, CSK didn't lose hope as they went on to win their third title.
The expectations from IPL 2019 are, again, really high. Every Chennai fan wants their team to defend the title, and would want them to fill all the gaps in the squad.
On that note, here is a look at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for CSK this season.
Strengths
The biggest strength of CSK is that they have a great captain in MS Dhoni. Dhoni has the ability to bring the best out of any player. Moreover, he is always spot-on with his on-field decisions; his brilliant captaincy is the reason that CSK have won the prestigious IPL trophy thrice.
The second positive for CSK is that they will be playing at their original home ground i.e. M.A. Chidambaram stadium or 'Chepauk'. Last season they were forced to play at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA), Pune, but this time they will have home advantage again.
The third strength of the yellow brigade is that they have huge fan support. Former Indian player Aakash Chopra once said the CSK fans are so passionate that even if Chennai plays at the moon then, their fans would somehow manage to reach the only natural satellite of the earth.
Weaknesses
There is no obvious weakness in this star-stunned side. The only area of concern is that it's a relatively old team, where the average age is 30 years.
However, every coin is two-sided. In this case, one side shows age, and the other side shows experience. And it's the experience of the team that helped it in the 2018 season.
The second thing that can stop CSK from defending their title is that many of their players have not been playing regular cricket.
Suresh Raina, for example, last played international cricket in 2018. There is a chance that he may be rusty in the first few matches of the tournament. If one or more of the players take time to settle in, it might leave CSK with too much to do in the second half of the season.