Chennai Super Kings are arguably the most successful and also the most controversial team in the Indian Premier League. The three-times champions are already on the eye of the storm due to a big chunk of their support staff being tested positive for COVID-19. Also, the controversy related to Suresh Raina’s withdrawal from this year’s IPL will create a big gap for them in their batting line-up. Generally, CSK makes spinner dominated teams which helps them in the slow turners in Chennai. With UAE providing similar conditions, CSK should have no difficulty in finding a winning formula. Let’s take a look at the Strength and Weakness of Chennai Super Kings in UAE for IPL 2020.
Squad
MS Dhoni, Narayan Jagadeesan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KM Asif, Ravindra Jadeja, M Vijay, Josh Hazlewood, Kedar Jadhav, Harbhajan Singh, Karn Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, Faf du Plessis, Shardul Thakur, Mitchell Santner, Dwayne Bravo, Lungi Ngidi, Sam Curran, Monu Kumar, Shane Watson, Sai Kishore
Strength and Weakness of Chennai Super Kings in UAE
Overseas Stars
The core of CSK’s overseas contingent is some of the biggest names in T20 cricket. The only problem is that age is not on their side. Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, and Imran Tahir will be their four preferred overseas players but all of them are above 35 with Tahir nearing 41. Hence, there will be chances of injury and hence they need some good backups. Lungi Ngidi is a brilliant young fast bowler and the team management may consider him in the eleven by dropping one of Tahir or Faf. There is also uncertainty regarding Josh Hazlewood’s participation as he expressed his concern over the COVID-19 spread.
Indian options
MS Dhoni will still be their biggest Indian star, especially now after Raina’s departure. The recent retirement from international cricket may add another dimension to Dhoni who may play slightly more freely at the last stage of his career. He will expect support from Ambati Rayudu and Kedar Jadav in the middle order. Rayudu would again like to prove the selectors wrong after the 2019 World Cup selection fiasco. Ruturaj Gaikwad is a brilliant young batsman but he will take some time to recover from COVID. Their bowling looks suitable for UAE conditions with Piyush Chawla and Ravindra Jadeja leading the spin attack. R Sai Kishore is an exciting prospect and may play a few matches at some point. Deepak Chahar had some great performances in the last couple of seasons. How he performs this year in UAE conditions will be interesting to see. However, the withdrawal of Raina and Harbhajan has created a problem for them in both departments.
Best XI for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2020
Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (C & wk), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir/Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Piyush Chawla
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