Why Chennai Super Kings are the real kings of IPL

Be it this edition of the Indian Premier League Season (IPL) or any other previous seasons, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has always lived up to the expectations of the crowd and to the title of ‘King’. They certainly deserve the title. Just like one gets an orange cap for scoring the highest runs and a purple one for highest wickets, a king crown should certainly be given to CSK, or probably they already knew about the team’s talent and hence got themselves the royal treatment.

One look at the statistics and it explains the entire story - CSK has always qualified for the top 4. They have featured in 4 finals out of the possible 5, winning 2 and losing 2. Then they won the Champions League title in the second season. This season too, they look to be in the driving seat to seal qualification and it wouldn’t be surprising if they feature in another final. Now, what is remarkable is their consistency. In cricket, be it in any format, if you are consistent, you will succeed and this mantra has been truly followed religiously by the Super Kings. One can argue that the Royal Challengers Bangalore have been consistent in the past and then there are Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians. However, these teams haven’t been consistent on a regular basis. They will play like champions for a couple of games, look unbeatable for a while and then in the next few games, are made to look very, very ordinary. Whereas CSK is not of such inconsistent nature. Yes, they lose matches, at times very poorly, but the next game they hit back so hard that the defeat seems history and victory looks certain thereafter.

So what makes them so different from the other teams? Big stars? Money? Or something else? Well, big stars and money is there with each and every team otherwise they wouldn’t be in the IPL in the first place itself. I think what makes CSK ‘the team‘ is the plain, simple balance, strong strategy and belief. They believe in their team, in their strategy, captain, players, support staff, coaches and the list goes on and on.

Apart from great self-belief and confidence, the place where they stand out from others is the perfect blend of Indian and foreign players. Whereas with the other teams, either they have a strong Indian line-up or an International line-up, but not both.

Look at the CSK team. Great opening pair in the form of Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay. Vijay has been inconsistent but then they have players who can come in and give Hussey the needed support. Then they have some great quality all-rounders in the name of Dwayne Bravo, Albie Morkel and Ravindra Jadeja (commonly known as ‘Sir Ravindra Jadeja’). Also, they have  found a new talent in Chris Morris, who has been outstanding for the Super Kings. Then of course, they have one of the best limited over players in the form of Suresh Raina and none other than the captain himself, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. These names themselves are enough to haunt the opposition side on any given day. Then they have the likes of Badrinath, who has been off colour this season but still is a handy guy when needed. What is remarkable is that he still holds his place in the team, which shows how much faith and belief CSK have in their players. The bowling department too is sturdy. Ravindra Chandra Ashwin holds the front and has been consistent with his economical and wicket taking ability. This season, the young Indian, Mohit Sharma, has impressed and has been of great support to the bowling attack. Then the quality all-rounders who are more than just bowlers. They can bowl as good as they can bat, which says it all. Last but not the least, their bench warmers are as strong as the playing 11. Faf Du Plessis is on the bench – sums up how competitive and strong CSK are.

This certainly makes CSK the team of the Indian Premier League for all the seasons so far. They have been competitive, consistent, balanced and to sum up – Performers!