The background:
With the two-year suspension coming to an end this week, Chennai Super Kings along with Rajasthan Royals will return to the Indian Premier League next season. Both the franchises were banned from IPL for two seasons each after some of their team owners were charged for corruption by the Supreme Court.
Next Summer, we will be there! #ManyHappyReturnsOfCSK pic.twitter.com/zkbgzUzchV
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) May 21, 2017
The story:
Chennai Super Kings are one of the most successful teams in the history of the IPL. The only team which has defended its IPL title so far, Chennai Super Kings have won the league twice-2010 and 2011 in addition to making it to the summit clash on four different occasions including the inaugural season. They have also won the now-scrapped Champions League T20 twice and while fans are eagerly waiting for the Super Kings to set the ground on fire from next season onward, their former player Muttiah Muralitharan believes the two-time champions would not find it easy to repeat their previous exploits.
The spin legend, who plied his trade for the franchise for the first three seasons, said that the team will find it tough to make a strong comeback since the core of the team is not intact just like it was for the first 8 seasons.
“CSK’s comeback is going to be hard. It’s not going to be the same as what you think. First time around, they had built a team from scratch and made sure that all their top players were retained year after year. Now, all the players are scattered and no one knows what the rules are going to be as far as player retention is concerned. They might not have the same dominance but they will still be close to the top,” Muralitharan said.
