Along with Mumbai Indians, Chennai SuperKings is the most successful unit in IPL history. The reason for success is them replicating their core team year after year, with minor changes here and there.
CSK back in IPL after a two-year hiatus have pretty much followed the same path in IPL 11 auction. After a decent day 1, CSK had a strong day 2 on the auction table getting many valued players often for a reasonable price. In the end, it had over Rs 6 crore left in the kitty despite picking maximum possible 25 players.
On Day 2, CSK focussed on getting back-up players for their top buys. Hence a Sam Billings, Mark Wood, Santner, Vijay etc were included in the line-up. Overall, CSK is full of players with unquestionable talent and proven track record. However, T-20 is called a young people's game. Most of CSK's top stars are above 30. Will it somehow impact the Yellow Army’s march, considering the tournament is played in a hectic manner in the summer of April and March. Probably anticipating that, CSK has got its back-up players ready.
CSK has batting firepower with Dhoni, Jadeja, Faf, Bravo, Raina, Watson, Rayadu, Jadhav and Faf in the mix. Many of them are CSK veterans. The bowling too looks pretty impressive with CSK boasting of high-calibre players like Bhajji, Karn Sharma, Mark Wood, Tahir, Ngidi. It's a shame that only 4 foreign players can be played in the IPL.
It means many of these quality foreigners will be warming the bench. CSK also has some good uncapped young talents in likes of Dhruv Shorey, Kanish Sheth, Asif KM etc… though it's a stretch to think they will get many games in such a star-studded team. Deepak Chahal who had a stellar Mushtaq Ali Trophy is also with the yellow unit.
Overall, CSK certainly has built a team which will be a title contender. With Dhoni at helm, only a massive catastrophe can stop CSK from reaching the top 4. Even after letting go crowd favourite Ashwin, CSK fans are unlikely to complain much.
Strength: High impact players with good possible backups
Weakness: Many of the superstars are above 30.
Auction Rating: 9/10
Full team:
Kedar Jadhav All-Rounder
Dwayne Bravo All-Rounder (RTM)
Karn Sharma Bowler
Shane Watson All-Rounder
Shardul Narendra Thakur Bowler
Ambati Rayudu Wicket Keeper
Murali Vijay Batsman
Harbhajan Singh Bowler
Faf Du Plessis Batsman (RTM)
Mark Wood Bowler
Sam Billings Wicket Keeper
Imran Tahir Bowler
Deepak Chahar All-Rounder
Mitchell Santner All-Rounder
Lungisani Ngidi Bowler
Asif K M Bowler
N Jagadeesan Wicket Keeper
Kanishk Seth All-Rounder
Monu Singh Bowler
Dhruv Shorey All-Rounder
Kshitiz Sharma All-Rounder
Chaitanya Bishnoi All-Rounder
Suresh Raina (R)
MS Dhoni (R)
Ravindra Jadeja (R)
