IPL 2022: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Cheatsheet, Probable Playing XI, Squad Depth and Key Players
A look at the team combinations, depth chart, recent form and the fantasy potential of key players from the Chennai Super Kings camp ahead of IPL 2022.
Coach: Stephen Fleming
Captain: MS Dhoni
IPL 2021 Finish: Champions
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) – Team Composition & Combinations for IPL 2022:
CSK was outbid by RCB for Faf du Plessis in the auction which means a new batter will partner Gaikwad at the top, who is most likely going to be Devon Conway. They’ve retained their middle-order of Moeen Ali, Robbin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo from last season.
The pace attack will sport a new look in the absence of Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar , the former being bought by DC in the auction and the latter will mostly miss the first-half of the tournament due to an injury. Adam Milne, Rajvardhan Hangargekar and Tushar Deshpande are the likely replacements.
The Uthappa-Dube conundrum
Uthappa and Dube would fight for the same middle-order spot in the CSK playing eleven. While Dube offers an additional bowling option, Uthappa has experience on his side and has played a match-winning cameo in last year’s finals. CSK usually values experience and continuity which means they’re likely to persist with Uthappa, atleast at the start of the season.
The local pace options
Deepak Chahar will miss a significant part of the tournament due to a hamstring tear which means two out of Tushar Deshpande, R Hangergekar and KM Asif are likely to feature in the playing eleven. While KM Asif has been around the CSK setup since 2018, he’s the one most likely to miss out as Deshpande offers new ball value and the knowledge of the venues at Mumbai and Hangergekar provides batting depth and bowls some serious pace.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Fantasy Cheat Sheet for IPL 2022
BANKERS
The players who provide good value for their credits and can be banked upon for consistent returns.
Ruturaj Gaikwad – The Orange Cap holder from last season has been in unreal form accumulating runs for fun at the domestic circuit. He was the highest run scorer in the Vijay Hazare trophy and was recently called up for the Indian white ball squad courtesy of his form. Teams should’ve figured out his weakness against pace by now and the absence of Faf du Plessis, the pace hitter who complemented him perfectly last year makes things worse. He should do fine though considering his role is that of an anchor. He averages a total of 51 Dream11 batting points per game in the IPL and crosses the 50 point mark once every 1.8 games.
Moeen Ali – The dynamic left-handed batter enjoyed his best ever season in the IPL with the bat last year scoring 357 runs from 15 games after he was promoted to the No.3 position by CSK. He’s also a good match-up bowler against the left-handers and averaged a total of 33 and 11.5 Dream11 points last season with the bat and ball respectively. His form in the recently concluded BPL has been good.
Ravindra Jadeja – The left-arm spinning allrounder’s batting performances has seen a surge in the past couple of years and he averages 57.4 with the bat and strikes at 157.7 since 2020 IPL. He’s currently one of the best pace power-hitters in the IPL and offers dual value with his left-arm spin. Since 2020 IPL, he averages 20.7 Dream11 batting points and 17.6 Dream11 bowling points per game.
TRAP
The players who seem like good buys, but won’t score enough points to justify their credits or hype.
Ambati Rayudu – He has played a key role in CSK’s title winning seasons in 2018 and 2021 and has been their second-highest run-scorer since 2018 despite batting at different positions. He’s expected to play at the No.4 or No.5 position this season depending on the situation which means he’ll enjoy less game-time and have to adopt a riskier approach like he did last year. He played some high impact knocks last season but averaged only 26.5 Dream11 points with the bat.
RISKY BUSINESS
The players who carry an element of risk with them which may be due to bad form, injury, lack of game time, etc……
Dwayne Bravo – Bravo is usually a reliable fantasy option as he bowls predominantly at the death where batters put less value over their wickets. However he’s an ageing resource and has had issues with injuries in the past. Anyway he enjoyed a good season last year picking 14 wickets from 11 games averaging 33 Dream11 bowling points per game.
Robin Uthappa – Uthappa’s batting has been on a downhill since 2017 and currently at best he offers power-hitting value vs spin but his pace game has been completely shot. As discussed earlier he would be fighting for the vacant middle-order spot with Dube and is not a reliable pick. Since 2020. he averages only 27 Dream11 points per game with the bat.
MS Dhoni – He hasn’t been the same batsman ever since his international retirement and with lack of game-time and match practice during the off-season, there’s not much hopes on his batting this season. Since 2020, he averages only 18 Dream11 batting points and even if you add his keeping points which is an average of 8 points per game it isn’t sufficient enough for him to warrant a spot in your fantasy team.
SLEEPER
The players who provide decent enough value but is undervalued or is just not a well-known player.
Devon Conway – With Faf du Plessis out of the side, he’ll partner Gaikwad at the top of the batting order. He might not be as destructive as Faf against pace but he’s a proficient player against spin and should play the anchor role with ease. He has had a great start to his T20I career so far and averages 50.3 Dream11 batting points in all T20s.
Adam Milne – Milne has got pace and provides hit the deck value for CSK. He’ll play the role Hazlewood used to play with the ball last season and is likely to partner Bravo at the death overs. He has a Dream11 bowling points average of 32 in all T20s since 2018.
FLEX
The players whose credit values are less but still provide some decent value thereby helping to balance out the lineup.
Rajvardhan Hangargekar – With all the hype surrounding him, he’s likely to start for CSK in the first game. T20 is usually harder on young pace bowlers so don’t expect heavy returns from him.
Tushar Deshpande – As discussed in the team combinations section, he’s the prime contender to replace Chahar in the bowling attack and should be a decent budget pick given his experience of bowling in Mumbai.
Also Read: Indian Premier League 2022: Rajasthan Royals Dream11 Fantasy CheatSheet for IPL 2022
Opponent Fantasy Value:
Every team is vulnerable to a certain batting type or a bowler type depending on their setup. For example, a batting unit full of right-handers will be vulnerable against left-arm spinners and wristspinners or a bowling attack void of any quality new-ball bowlers will leak runs in the Powerplay and allow the openers to score freely. These vulnerabilities of the team allows certain player types from opponent sides to perform freely against them which can be used to pick those player types from the opponent side in your fantasy team. As far as Chennai Super Kings are concerned, you can pick the player types listed below from the opponent side if those player types are available.
- Hit the deck pacers
- Anchors who can smoke pace and are competent vs finger-spin
- Pace-hitters at the death