Chennai Super Kings - IPL 2021 Preview
The three-time IPL champion Chennai Super Kings will enter in the 14th edition of IPL with only one thing in their mind - to bring the glory days back. After last season’s debacle, it will be a hard task for their longest-serving and the only captain M S Dhoni to rebuild the perfect 11 to get CSK’s hands on the IPL trophy for the fourth time. CSK are bookies’ sixth favorites to win the upcoming IPL season. 10Cric has put a bet returns of $7 on $1 put on CSK. With such a low expectation in the IPL betting circle, will the whistle blow for the team yellow is an ice-cold question.
History of Chennai Super Kings
CSK started their IPL journey with a bang by reaching the final. They lose to Rajasthan Royals in the final ball of the game. Since then, they never looked back. They won back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011. They had a chance to make it four in a row but lost to Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians in 2012 and 2013 respectively. The depth of Chennai Super Kings under the captaincy of Dhoni was so high that they reached the playoffs of every IPL season until they were suspended in 2015 from the IPL for 2 years for the alleged involvement of their owners in the 2013 IPL betting case.
In 2018, CSK rebuild their squad by signing most of their 2015 squad with few exceptions (like Ravichandran Ashwin). They made a fascinating comeback by winning the IPL 2018 to become the most successful IPL franchise at that time. Following season, they made it to the finals but lost to Mumbai Indians by 1 run. IPL 2020 was the only season where CSK could not make it to the playoffs.
CSK IPL 2021 Auction
After a forgetful season as per the CSK’s standards, they released four of their main team players including Shane Watson (Retired). They went into the auction with a purse of 22.90 crores (USD 3.14 million). CSK had 7 slots available including one overseas player in this year’s auction.
CSK tried hard to sign Glenn Maxwell for INR 14 crores (Approx. 61% of their purse) in their first engagement but got bullied by Royal Challengers Bangalore. They then successfully bid for England all-rounder Moeen Ali. Ali got signed for INR 7 crore (USD 962k). In 3 IPLs for RCB, Ali has scored 309 runs at a strike rate of 158.46 and has taken 10 wickets at an economy of 7.13 in 19 matches. He can solve CSK’s opening problem as well as middle-order problems.
CSK’s next bid baffled many. They went as high as INR 9.25 crore (USD 1.27 million) to land uncapped Krishnappa Gowtham in the yellow jersey. The bowling all-rounder who was earlier part of Rajasthan Royals has scored 186 runs with a strike rate of 169.09 and has taken 13 wickets. He will be bearing a lot of burdens to prove himself to fill the void created after releasing Kedar Jadhav and Piyush Chawla.
CSK gave Cheteshwar Pujara his 1st IPL contract since 2013 a decision appalled by everyone in the room and all over the world. In the final stages of the auction, they signed three uncapped players for their base prices to complete the 25 men squad.
Players out: Kedar Jadhav, Murali Vijay, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Monu Singh, Shane Watson (Retired.)
Players in: Moeen Ali, Krishnappa Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, Harishankar Reddy, Bhagath Verma, Hari Nishanth.
Key Players for Chennai Super Kings
Ruturaj Gaikwad: Gaikwad was ‘The Finding’ of the last season for CSK. After a series of failures in the first 3 games, Gaikwad scored 3 half-centuries in a row in the final three games to help CSK win and finish the season on a high note. He will be CSK’s player to watch out for this season.
Sam Curran: Curran played all 14 games for CSK by picking 13 wickets and scoring 186 runs. He also impressed with the opening batsman role. CSK will bank on the versatility of the youngest playing member in the squad to fight for the title
Shardul Thakur: Thakur will be leading the bowling department with Deepak Chahar. He has played 45 IPL games so far picking up 46 wickets at an economy of 8.92. He recently had a great show with the bat also in the Australia tour and the Vijay Hazare Trophy. His added skill will come in handy for CSK this season.
Suresh Raina: CSK’s Chinna Thala is back in the squad after missing an entire season. He is the second-highest run-getter in the IPL history with 5368 runs in 193 games at an average of 33.34 and a strike rate of 137.14.
Chennai Super Kings Squad for IPL 2021
MS Dhoni (c), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, KM Asif, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, N Jagadeesan, Karn Sharma, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shardul Thakur, Sam Curran, Josh Hazlewood, R Sai Kishore, Moeen Ali, Krishnappa Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, Harishankar Reddy, Bhagath Verma, Hari Nishanth.
Odds to Win IPL 2021 at 10CRIC: 10Cric providing best cricket odds has placed CSK at 7.0 for IPL 2021. They are the seventh favorite in the IPL betting circle to win the IPL 2021. Famous for qualifying for the finals and pulling great comebacks, the odds can give high returns.
Expectations for IPL 2021
Chennai won’t be playing at their home ground as per the new rules set by IPL governing council. It will be interesting to see how they perform in neutral venues.
1. Mumbai Indians: The most happening rivalry of IPL will continue to dominate each other this season. But Mumbai Indians are expected to win both the games this season based on the depleted form of CSK from last season.
2. Kolkata Knight Riders: CSK gave a tough fight to KKR last season in the first game while winning the second game comfortably. This season with new players coming in they are expected to win both the games against their rivals.
3. Delhi Capitals: CSK experience will be the key against the youngest squad of the IPL. They will be bookies favorite to win against DC this season.
Conclusion
After last season’s failure, Chennai Super Kings will be roaring to prove the doubters wrong. They have made good use of the auctions this year. Let’s see if they will get their fourth IPL trophy to become the most successful IPL franchise with Mumbai Indians.
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