Preview
The 16th Season of Indian Premier League is around the corner and fans cannot curb their excitement. You can catch our IPL 2023 Overview here. In this article, we will talk about the Chennai Super Kings in detail.
The 4 time champions will kick-start the season off when they take on GT in the opening fixture, come March 31st. With things back being normal, CSK fans are one of the most excited lot with the prospect of seeing their side back at home in Chepauk after such a long wait. Everything seemed to went wayward for them last season, but they definitely would’ve left all that behind. Now with Dhoni back at helm, having taken the captaincy back from Jadeja midway last season, CSK seem a completely different outfit. Also with high chances of this being his last IPL, expect the rest of the squad to give it their all in search of glory for the 5th time
Last Season Standings: With 4 wins & 10 losses, they took the 9th spot on the points tally
Schedule of CSK Matches
Match 1: March 31, Friday: Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings at Ahmedabad at 7:30 PM
Match 6: April 3, Monday: Chennai Super Kings vs Lucknow Super Giants at Chennai at 7:30 PM
Match 12: April 8, Saturday: Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings at Mumbai at 7:30 PM
Match 17: April 12, Wednesday: Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals at Chennai at 7:30 PM
Match 24: April 17, Monday: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings at Bengaluru at 7:30 PM
Match 29: April 21, Friday: Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad at Chennai at 7:30 PM
Match 33: April 23, Sunday: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings at Kolkata at 7:30 PM
Match 37: April 27, Thursday: Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings at Jaipur at 7:30 PM
Match 41: April 30, Sunday: Chennai Super Kings vs Punjab Kings at Chennai at 3:30 PM
Match 46: May 4, Thursday: Lucknow Super Giants vs Chennai Super Kings at Lucknow at 3:30 PM
Match 49: May 6, Saturday: Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians at Chennai at 3:30 PM
Match 55: May 10, Wednesday: Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Capitals at Chennai at 7:30 PM
Match 61: May 14, Sunday: Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders at Chennai at 7:30 PM
Match 67: May 20, Saturday: Delhi Capitals vs Chennai Super Kings at Delhi at 3:30 PM
You can check the Overall IPL Schedule here.
Squads
BATTERS: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Subhranshu Senapati
ALL-ROUNDERS: Ben Stokes, Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Shivam Dube, Nishant Sindhu, Ajay Mandal
BOWLERS: Deepak Chahar, Sisanda Magala, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Mukesh Choudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Tushar Deshpande, Simarjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki, Bhagath Verma
WKs: MS Dhoni (c), Devon Conway
Changes to the Roster from last season:
Major INs:
Ben Stokes, Sisanda Magala, Ajinkya Rahane
Major OUTs:
Dwayne Bravo, Robin Uthappa, Chris Jordan
Squad News/Changes:
- Sisanda Magala, whom CSK signed as Kyle Jamieson’s replacement will join the squad after the ODI series vs Netherlands
- Mukesh Choudhary, their joint leading wicket-taker last season is likely to be ruled out of the entire tournament owing to a back injury
Key Players
Ben Stokes – All Rounder (Left Hand Bat + Right Arm Medium Pace)
CSK acquired Stokes’ services ahead of the season for a whopping sum of 16.25 crores, their most expensive buy ever. He will be in action in a T20 for the 1st time in 2 years. Having helped England secure the T20 World Cup last year with an unbeaten half-century in the final, CSK would be hoping for him to put in similar performances in clutch situations throughout the season. He’s expected to play a major role with the ball later on, but won’t be bowling in the initial half in order to manage his knee injury
IPL Career: Inns- 41 | Runs- 920 | Avg- 26 | Wkts- 28 | Avg- 35
Ravindra Jadeja – All Rounder (Left Hand Bat + Left Arm Orthodox)
After a fairly disappointing last season, Jadeja could well have a major impact with the ball this season, more so with 7 games to come at Chepauk. He’s been fairly consistent at the venue since the start of 2015: Inns- 14 | Wkts- 14 | Avg- 18 | SR- 19 He might be seen batting a position or 2 lower than earlier seasons with the inclusion of Stokes, but his batting exploits since the start of 2019 means he’s certain to have an impact with the bat wherever he bats:
IPL Career: Inns- 41 | Runs- 681 | Avg- 40 | SR- 143
Ruturaj Gaikwad – Batsman (Right Hand Bat)
Gaikwad’s rise in the format has been nothing short of exceptional, he has turned into one of CSK mainstays in no time. No one has scored more runs for CSK ever since he made his debut for them.
IPL Career: Inns- 36 | Runs- 1207 | Avg- 38 | SR- 130
When it comes to most runs in the competition since the start of 2021, he sits 5th on the list with 1003 runs at an average of 36. He’s been in great run of form in the domestic circuit, and had a great run in last season’s Syed Mushtaq Ali (SMAT) Performance:
Syed Mushtaq Ali Performance: Inns- 5 | Runs- 295 | Avg- 59 | SR- 147
CSK Player to Watch Out For
Simarjeet Singh – Bowler (Right Arm Medium Pace)
The medium pacer from Delhi made his IPL debut last season. Even before his IPL debut he came mightily close to earning a maiden international cap, having been picked for the last 2 SL T20Is in June 2021. Though he could only manage 4 wickets from 6 outings last season, he showed great promise and bowled with good control, which saw him finish with a far better economy rate (7.67) than all other CSK pacers. With Mukesh likely to miss the entire season, Simarjeet is likely to find
What do you think then are CSK’s chances for this IPL Season?
