The defending champions are all set to win consecutive titles for the second time in the competition’s history. The Super Kings have all it takes to be the champions: a set of dedicated players, a brilliant captain and a hard-working coaching staff. This auction the Chennai think tank did not have much to do, they went into the auction with one thing in mind and came back addressing it.
Let us see how their final squad looks like.
OPENERS:
When the previous season took off, many believed that the returning Super Kings do not have a set of good openers with only one specialist opener in the form of Murli Vijay in the squad but they seem to have developed a set of openers for themselves by the time the season concluded. The CSK think tank was able to carve out a great pair of openers from the veterans Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis. Both of them played a crucial role in the team's journey to the title in the previous season. In short, Chennai has a formidable set of openers who can change the game in their team’s favour.
MIDDLE ORDER:
The franchise seems to have strong middle order batsmen their disposal. With the likes of Raina, Rayudu and Kedar Jadhav in the team, the middle overs will be a walk in the park for the Super Kings. The presence of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sam Billings in the side ensures that, even if the big names fail, Captain Cool has a good bench strength to go to in times of distress.
Not to forget the finishing firepower Chennai possesses in the form of Dhoni, Bravo, Jadeja and Willey. This set of finishers can chip in with handy runs at the death and can steal the show at the rare occasion when middle order failure.
BOWLERS:
Spinners have always been the key to success in the shortest format of the game and Chennai seem to have them in abundance. The team has the services of world class spinners like Tahir, Santner and Jadeja at its disposal. One should not forget Karn Sharma and the Turbinator Harbhajan Singh who impressed last season with their performance at the odd occasions when they were in the squad.
The young pace battery that the Super Kings possessed impressed everyone with their performances last season and the inclusion of the experienced Mohit Sharma would only lead to its betterment. Chahar and Ngidi both shined in the last season and the team expects an inspiring performance from them this season too. Apart from these, Chennai also has the likes of Bravo and Willey who can contribute with the ball too.
Having retained the majority of their squad, Chennai seems to have addressed the only thing they lacked in: an experienced pacer. With the likes of Dhoni, Raina, du Plessis, Rayudu in their ranks, the Super Kings are surely all padded up for another title.
Players Bought:
Mohit Sharma - Rs 5 crore
Ruturaj Gaikwad - Rs 20 lac
Players Retained:
MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, M Vijay, Shane Watson, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, David Willey, Dwayne Bravo, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu, Sam Billings, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma, Dhruv Shorey, N Jagadeesan, Shardul Thakur, Monu Kumar, Chaitanya Bishnoi.
