– Subhayan Chakraborty
Overview
Injuries to key players, a captaincy saga, failure to close out tight games and inconsistent form resulted in Chennai Super Kings (CSK) finishing ninth in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2022, with just four wins and 10 defeats. That happened just a season after the Yellow Brigade had lifted their fourth IPL trophy. A year on from that worst-ever performance, CSK, under the captaincy of MS Dhoni, will look to hit the heights again in a bid to provide a fitting farewell to the legendary wicketkeeper-batsman.
The last season was embroiled in controversy and not-so-rosy headlines, especially speculation that Ravindra Jadeja was unhappy with how captaincy was snatched away from him eight matches into the season (just two wins). This time, Chennai have their premier all-rounder back happy and smiling, while also having added the firepower of Ben Stokes, England’s Test captain. Despite the lousy show last year, CSK have retained the majority of the players. They will be missing Dwayne Bravo, who wasn’t retained and ended up retiring from the IPL to become the franchise’s bowling coach.
With the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai all decked up with its three refurbished stands, can CSK use home advantage again to script another glorious run?
Strengths and weaknesses
CSK’s biggest strength over the years has been the experience factor. Often labelled ‘Dad’s Army’, CSK have usually managed to convince the doubters that age is just a number. It’s going to be extremely similar in IPL 2023 as well. With the addition of Stokes, CSK’s batting suddenly looks a lot more powerful. The flair of Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad, followed by the experience of Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali, Stokes, Jadeja and Dhoni, backed up by the explosiveness of Shivam Dube.
The real weakness is the lack of squad depth. There are not enough high-quality players in the group who could walk into the XI to replace the first-choice batters. Another factor that could hurt CSK is the lack of regular game time, away from IPL, for the likes of Rayudu and Dhoni.
Missing Mukesh Choudhary, at least for the first phase of IPL 2023, is a huge blow for CSK. While Choudhary kept Chennai in games last season with his left-arm pace and lethal inswingers, it remains to be seen whether the likes of Simarjeet Singh or Tushar Deshpande can replicate the kind of impact he had with the ball in 2022.
Strategy Watch
At Chepauk, expect CSK to use their spin troika of Jadeja, Moeen and Maheesh Theekshana. As the tournament progresses and pitches slow down, even Mitchell Santner could come into play making it a four-way spin web in Chennai.
Also, that packed batting line-up, with Stokes likely to play as a specialist batter, should see a much more attacking approach this season.
Impact Player Watch
When it comes to the newly introduced impact player rule, Chennai, with no great depth in the squad, could be the team that uses it the least. A popular move, when bowling first, could be to bowl out Theekshana in the power play and bring in Santner or Dwaine Pretorius for another four overs, if needed, and an extra layer of batting. Similarly, Rajvardhan Hangargekar’s all-round ability is an option in place of an out-and-out seamer.
Last Year
Chennai finished ninth of 10 teams, ahead of Mumbai only on net run-rate.
Best finish
CSK have won the title four times, the last occasion being in 2021. Their nine appearances in the final is a record.
Likely Playing XI
Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (C/WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Mukesh Choudhary, Maheesh Theekshana/Mitchell Santner.