CSK vs MI Dream11 Prediction: 3 players you can pick as captain or vice-captain for today’s IPL match – March 23, 2025
The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Mumbai Indians (MI) go head-to-head in the El Clasico of the IPL on Sunday, March 23, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. It's the second match of the first doubleheader of IPL 2025, with the SunRisers Hyderabad and the Rajasthan Royals squaring off in the afternoon.
MI will be without a few big names in their opening game of the season, with Jasprit Bumrah still recovering from an injury and regular captain Hardik Pandya serving a one-match ban for over-rate offenses from last season. Nevertheless, MI are one of the pre-tournament favorites, and they'll back themselves to give CSK a hard time tonight.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and company are a team designed to shine in home conditions, and they'll be keen to see their spin trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Noor Ahmad spin a web around the opposition batters in this match.
An electrifying contest is expected tonight at Chepauk as the fierce rivals lock horns in a bid to open their campaigns with a win. Let's now look at three players who'd make good Dream11 captaincy options for your teams.
CSK vs MI Dream11 Prediction: 3 players you can pick as captain or vice-captain for today’s IPL match
#3 Sam Curran (ALL) (CSK)
Sam Curran's T20 stocks have dropped considerably, as the English all-rounder went from being purchased for a whopping ₹18.5 crore in the IPL 2023 auction to just ₹2.4 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction. However, Curran would be glad to return to the CSK dugout, where he spent two seasons and ended up winning the IPL title once (2021).
Given CSK's squad composition, Curran is set to play a crucial role with both bat and ball. His recent performances as a batter have been really good and he will be the main man in the CSK middle order. His left-arm pace, aided by an array of variations could be quite effective on the slower Chepauk surfaces.
A complete all-rounder, Sam Curran's multiple routes to scoring points make him an able Dream11 captaincy pick.
#2 Tilak Varma (BAT) (MI)
Tilak Varma has risen to the status of an anchor in this MI batting lineup, and his performance with the bat could well dictate how his team fares in arguably the most-anticipated clash. Tilak is in exceptional form in T20 cricket and is currently No. 4 in the ICC T20I Batting Rankings.
Set to bat at No. 3 for MI this season, Tilak's game against spin will be most important, as the MI batters look to navigate CSK's spin bowling web.
The 22-year-old had a stellar IPL 2024, where he scored 416 runs in 13 innings, averaging 41.6, and scoring at a strike rate of close to 150. Tilak should be at his consistent best in this match and is one to consider handing your captain's armband to.
#1 Ruturaj Gaikwad (BAT) (CSK)
CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad is one of the frontrunners for Dream11 captaincy in this match. The opener is the rock of this CSK batting lineup and has consistently been one of their top run-scorers in the IPL since his debut. He had an exceptional IPL 2024, scoring 583 runs at an average of 53 and a strike rate of 141.16, and will look to continue that run-scoring form in IPL 2025.
Ruturaj has a great record batting at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, where he has scored 706 runs in 15 innings at an average of 58.8 and a strike rate of close to 140. An extremely consistent opening batter like Ruturaj with a penchant for making big scores is a quality Dream11 armband choice for this match.