In the first 10 editions of IPL, the Super Kings were ranked in the top four positions and were in contention for grabbing the silverware.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have been among the most consistent teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and some key decisions in their playing XI this time could see the five-time champions enjoy success like they did under former Indian captain MS Dhoni.
In the first 10 editions of IPL, CSK were ranked in the top four positions and were in contention for grabbing the silverware. After winning their fifth title in 2023, Dhoni passed down the baton to Ruturaj Gaikwad.
In 2024, the Chennai-based franchise exhibited poor form and nearly missed going into the playoffs. They finished in fifth position with an NRR of 0.392. While Dhoni’s presence behind the stumps was pivotal, the Super Kings took some time to get going under a new skipper.
In the upcoming season starting Match 21, the yellow team will look to regroup and bank on their strengths. They will look to include the following decisions in the CSK Playing XI to return to winning ways.
The local boy Ravichandran Ashwin has been seen in yellow colours since the inception of IPL. He last played for the Super Kings in 2015. After representing four different teams, Ashwin is back to his local team. He has shown his mettle with 90 scalps for CSK alone. Further, Ashwin’s economy rate has been astonishingly low at 6.26 at CSK’s home den – MA Chidambaram Stadium. The Indian spinner’s return to the Playing XI will add experience in the spin department and bag some more wins. But that should come with partnering him with wicket-taking options in the spin department including Ravindra Jadeja and Noor Ahmad.
Sri Lanka’s Matheesha Pathirana is the best offer to CSK’s pace department. Pathirana has featured in the last three seasons for Chennai. Playing just six games in the previous edition, Pathirana took 13 wickets at a decent economy rate of 7.68. He also bagged a four-wicket haul. The Lankan force is also a death-over specialist. His impact and pace in the final overs of the game have been monumental.
In death overs alone, Pathirana has 22 wickets to his name at an economy rate of 8.24. He will be a superb choice in the Playing XI alongside Shardul Thakur. Even with him out of form, CSK should persist with the Sri Lankan as the lead pacer. That said, the onus is still on the spinners, so combining him with someone like Khaleel Ahmed would be best for the pace attack. Khaleel adds the left-arm angle, while also being effective across phases.
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Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway have been CSK’s most successful opening pair so far. The numbers are mind-boggling. In 2022, the duo opened for seven games, scoring 359 runs with a highest partnership of 182. In 2023, they scored a mammoth 889 runs which included a best stand of 141. The New Zealand Star missed half of the 2024 season due to an injury.
However, this year, Conway is expected to be back and start the innings with Gaikwad. Pairing the two at the top even if Rachin Ravindra is available could lend more stability to CSK’s way of batting. Sitting Conway out for Ravindra or moving Gaikwad to the middle-order might not help them in the long run.
To further strengthen their batting line-up, one of the easiest calls to make would be to bring in Rachin Ravindra at No.3, Rahul Tripathi at No.4 followed by Shivam Dube. Another Kiwi, Rachin, has been tremendous for the Super Kings. He collected 222 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of 160.86. He can also open the innings.
Formerly in SunRisers Hyderabad outfit, Tripathi was purchased by CSK for 3.40 CR. He is another rising star with 2,236 runs accumulated in 95 IPL appearances at a strike rate of 139.31. Dube will complete the middle order for CSK. He played all 14 games in the previous season at his IPL-best strike rate of 162.29.
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With the new skipper around, CSK management will have to make some tough choices to manage their starting XI accordingly. They can get early momentum and some easy wins at their home ground. With Dhoni being ideal as a finisher and his guidance accessible on the pitch, the Super Kings are expected to have a good season.
Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Matheesha Pathirana, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmad.
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