The eight-times Indian Premier League finalists and three-times champion Chennai Super Kings will be back once again in the upcoming season of IPL. Chennai Super Kings led by MS Dhoni would like to lead his team to yet another title.
They bought 4 players in this year’s auction as the Super Kings acquired Piyush Chawla, Australian pacer Josh Hazelwood, English all-rounder Sam Curran and Sai Kishore. However, they will miss the service of veteran Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh, who pulled out owing to personal reasons.
Chennai has a good core and would like to continue their form in this IPL as well. Chennai Super Kings play their first game against Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
Let’s have a look at the Predicted Playing XI of Chennai Super Kings for IPL 2020:
1. Shane Watson
Former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson will continue opening for Chennai Super Kings and would look to continue his form in the IPL. Watson who didn’t bowl a single ball in the previous edition of IPL will let his bat do the talking. Watson’s form for CSK has been very good as the former Australian all-rounder scored a magnificent century in the finals of the 2018 edition of IPL against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
He almost took CSK home in the finals of the previous edition of the cash-rich league, where the Australian batsman was batting with an injury. He will once again open with his South African partner Faf Du Plessis to give CSK a good start.
2. Faf Du Plessis
The South African batsman recently stepped down from captaincy and was looking to focus on his batting and the development of the South African team. Du Plessis has been the part of CSK since 2011 and has played some brilliant knock for CSK with the innings against SRH in the Qualifier of 2018 edition being at the top.
In IPL 2019, the 35-year-old batsman played 12 matches for CSK. He scored 396 runs at an average of 36.00 and a strike rate of 123.36. The Pretoria-born superstar recorded three half-centuries during the previous season.
3. Ambati Rayudu
The Hyderabad lad will be seen once again donning the Chennai jersey, he had a brilliant season with the bat in 2018 where he scored more than 600 runs which helped him get back a spot in the Indian team but after Vijay Shankar was selected for the world cup he took an unhealthy jibe on the selectors and also retired from the game after he was over-looked as an injury replacement.
He has been in various controversies as the batsman took to Twitter to allege the members of the Hyderabad Cricket Association to be biased and corrupt. A bad season in 2020 could see him getting no bid in the mega auctions of 2021.
4. MS Dhoni (C&WK)
The former Indian Captain and legend of the game MS Dhoni will be back on the field after India’s heartbreak loss against New Zealand in the semifinals of the World Cup in Manchester.
Dhoni who is one of the most destructive batsmen of all time will look to continue his previous year’s IPL form in this year’s IPL as well. Mahendra Singh Dhoni played an important role in the upliftment of the careers of Ravichandran Ashwin, Dwyane Bravo, and Ravindra Jadeja.
Dhoni’s understanding of the game will be very crucial for CSK to help them lift another title.
5. Kedar Jadhav
The all-rounder from Maharashtra had to face the feat after India bowed out of the World Cup last year in England. Kedar Jadhav will be desperate to shun his critics with powerhouse performances in IPL 2020 in the UAE.
Also, the absence of Suresh Raina in the line-up will add responsibility for him. The short-height dynamo will look to make the most of the opportunity and establish his credentials.
Moreover, Jadhav can also chip in with off-spin as and when required with UAE pitches assisting the spinners.
6. Ravindra Jadeja
The Indian all-rounder has seen a brilliant raise in his game and the form he is in can be very crucial to Chennai’s chance in IPL. During the previous IPL season, the Rajkot-based cricketer played 16 games for Chennai and scalped 15 wickets while giving away runs at a miserly economy rate of 6.35. His best figures of 3/9 prove how important he is to the CSK franchise.
Jadeja’s fielding will provide a different dimension to Chennai’s fielding set-up. Ravindra Jadeja will also look to be a match-winner for Dhoni’s team.
7. Dwyane Bravo
The West Indian all-rounder made his international return in the series against Ireland, where he played extremely well with both bat and ball. Bravo can also be the key player for CSK in the death overs, his form has been on a rise as the Caribbean has looked to play his shots and also looked in prime form.
In the entire season, Bravo aggregated 80 runs at an average of 16. His performance was much better in the bowling department as he took 11 wickets at an economy rate of 8.01.
With Sam Curran present in the team, Bravo will have to play consistently to cement his spot in the playing XI.
8. Deepak Chahar
The fast bowler from Rajasthan will be leading Chennai’s bowling department. The Rajasthan lad has looked extremely comfortable with the ball and can swing the balls both ways. His bowling performance against Bangladesh in the T20 series was class-apart as the bowler took 6 for 7 in a do-or-die match in Nagpur.
MSD will look to use Chahar in the early stages of the game and would like to get the most out of him in the powerplay overs. He took 22 wickets in the last edition of IPL and will like to continue his form and bowl according to the plan.
9. Piyush Chawla
After an eventful time with Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, spinner Piyush Chawla has shifted his base to Chennai. The veteran leg-spinner was the highest-paid cricketer in the IPL 2020 auction.
The experienced customer will be one of the trump cards for MS Dhoni in the upcoming IPL. The leg-spinner has quite a few variations and can fox the batters easily.
Besides, Chawla can contribute with the bat which adds depth to Chennai’s batting in the UAE.
10. Shardul Thakur
The Mumbai lad has been the part of the Indian team for a few series owing to Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s injury. Shardul Thakur has looked very comfortable with the bat as he has looked to score runs at a quick rate.
Shardul Thakur will have to support Deepak Chahar in the powerplay overs. He would also look to end the innings with his street smart cutters and slow balls which includes his speciality knuckle-ball.
His form in the last season of IPL was not very impressive as Shardul took 8 wickets in 10 games with an economy of 9.36.
11. Imran Tahir
The purple cap winner of IPL 2019, Imran Tahir is ageing like wine. Having announced his retirement from international cricket, Tahir has played a lot of T20 cricket this year. He was also the leading wicket-taker in Mzansi Super League 2019.
The 40-year-old leg-spinner bowler will be key to Chennai’s chance in the middle overs as Imran Tahir will love to take wickets in the middle period of the game and put pressure on the batting team. He will also have the duty of containing runs and finish the overs with as few runs as possible.