CHENNAI: With less than a week to go for the opening match of the Indian Premier League — Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore — star players of the home side have been landing in Chennai since the past seven days or so. From captain MS Dhoni to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, the biggest names have joined the camp, setting the social media abuzz.
On Sunday, arrived the New Zealand trio — Mitchell Santner, Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell — who could well be the final puzzle to the CSK’s starting XI. While Kiwi stars fitting into the Chennai team is the norm, after the mini auction, CSK had a problem of plenty. They already had Devon Conway and Santner in the squad. Apart from that, Chennai signed Rachin for `1.8 crore and Mitchell for `14 crore. It meant, CSK, who already have Matheesha Pathirana, Maheesh Theekshana and Moeen Ali, will be able to play only one of the two New Zealanders in the playing XI.
Fast forward to March, Conway is injured, and so is Pathirana. Yet, CSK have one of the most balanced teams in the league. And there is a reason for it. For starters, Chennai has many multi-utility Indian players, who have not just the skill but also the experience — Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, and Shardul Thakur. Shivam Dube is yet to join the camp, but should not be a surprise if he gets fit in time for the opener.
That is four potential Indian starters. Then comes the overseas list — Rachin in place of Conway, Mitchell potentially at No 4. That is two top-class batters and eight assured overs in the top four. Add Moeen, who is their primary off-spinner, that’s another three all-rounders. Then, there is Mustafizur Rahman who could come in for Pathirana.
Now, CSK haven’t rode on the performance of the big overseas stars in the past few years. Dhoni has used the team combination like solving a jig-saw puzzle, bringing the best out of players. No better example than the 2023 IPL final. Come the big day, look at the three names that put CSK at front and centre. Ajinkya Rahane — someone who has been a long-format specialist and was barely making an impact in the IPL. Dube — have been around without a consistent season to show. Ambati Rayudu — way past his prime, on his swansong. That pretty much sums up Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings.
However, CSK still had a job to do at the auction as they needed at least two viable backups for Rahane and Rayudu. They had an exemplary auction, signing the aforementioned overseas stars, and also an up-and-coming star in Sameer Rizvi. Going into this season, they could easily have seven-eight bowling options and players for specific roles. Dube could still play the spin-hitter with Mitchell to accompany, Rachin could anchor as Gaikwad continues to enforce.
Then comes Chahar and Thakur — two pacers who can bat and more importantly, who Dhoni and the team management knows and trusts. With the Impact Player rule in play, they might only look stronger on field than paper. CSK bowling coach Dwayne Bravo, understandably, was happy with the players at his disposal. “As a bowling coach, I find the CSK attack very good... Pathirana, Thakur, Rahman, Chahar and Tushar Deshpande... so the attack looks good, we have a lot of depth and again they are all young fast bowlers,” he had said recently. As is often the case, anything could happen in a long tournament like IPL. However, it is safe to say, CSK perhaps have the most balanced squad, with backups for every necessary option, on paper. Which is why, the defending champions will once again start the season as favourites.
