Now that the ICC World Cup 2015 is finally over, it’s time to move on to IPL as we preview two time champion team Chennai Super Kings for the season of IPL 2015. . Yes, it’s the highly anticipated Indian Premier League 2015. The IPL 2015 will be a festival for all cricket lovers like it has been since 2008. The brand value of the IPL has been at an all time high, and here, the biggest names in cricket are willing to give their all for their franchises.
It would be a no-brainer to state that the Chennai Super Kings has been the most successful side in the IPL. They have reached either the semi finals or the playoffs in every edition. Chennai Super Kings have won the coveted trophy twice and have been the runners up thrice. Consistency cannot be taken to a level any higher than this! The most significant reason behind CSK’s astounding success has been their strategy of keeping the core unit of the team united and together. In the auctions as well, they buy sensibly, and very rarely do they shell out in extravagance over an individual. For any player they have lost to other sides in the auctions, they have found an able replacement for him.
The Chennai Super Kings stood third in the previous edition, and last won the title in 2011. They would want to repeat their feats of 2010 and 2011, and win the IPL for the third time. Going by their team strength and the talent they possess, this may not seem a distant dream.
PAST PERFORMANCES of Chennai Super Kings:
2008: Runners Up
2009: 4th Place
2010: Winners
2011: Winners
2012: Runners Up
2013: Runner Up
2014: 3rd Place
CURRENT SQUAD:
MS Dhoni (c), E. Dwivedi, K. Abbott, B Aparajith, R Ashwin, S Badree, A. Bains, D. Bravo, F du Plessis, M. Henry, M.Hussey, RA Jadeja, B. McCullum, M Manhas, R. More, P Negi, A Nehra, I. Pandey, I. Pathan, P. Singh, S. Raina, M.Sharma, R Sharma, D. Smith, AJ Tye
STRENGTH:
The Super Kings are a side, which rely more upon their batting. Their batting arsenal is filled with international, as well as Indian heartthrobs. When Brendon McCullum and Mike Hussey are likely to open the innings, then it sends down an intimidating message to the opposing bowlers. The bowlers then look to contain them, rather than attack them. These two are most likely to open, while their reserve opener will be none other than Dwayne Smith. On present form, Smith might have to sit out. Nonetheless, it was Dwayne Smith, who scored the most runs for CSK with 566 runs, and was second only to Robin Uthappa in the tournament charts.
Another strength of the Super Kings is that they have four all rounders in their probable eleven. What more does a captain want? Dwayne Bravo, Irfan Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravi Ashwin will form their lower middle order. This clearly means that their batting can stretch up to no.9.
WEAKNESS:
A clear weakness for the men in Yellow is the fact that they do not have a star overseas bowler up their ranks. In their overseas pacers department, they just have the inexperienced combo of Matt Henry and Kyle Abbott. Both the seamers might be plundered for runs on the lifeless Chepauk track. The initial blows may dent their confidence big time. The absence of a successful overseas pacer hurt MS Dhoni big time in the previous edition of the IPL, after he lost Bravo to a shoulder injury. Bravo is there this time around, but he is often very expensive. Therefore, the absence of overseas pacers may hurt the Super Kings.
OPPORTUNITY:
The one absolute advantage which the men from Chennai have is that they are led by the World’s best limited overs captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The presence of Dhoni itself is such a massive advantage that CSK wins half the battle even before commencing the game. The format of T20 is to Dhoni’s, who is captain of team Chennai Spuer Kings, liking and he often leads from the front and sets examples in the field. His ability to maneuver the game during the course is simply out of this world. He strategizes like an absolute wizard. MS Dhoni the batsman himself rips apart the bowlers. But in the shortest format, it’s his captaincy which is more valuable to the side. Dhoni while defending a target chokes the opposition out off the game, by having crucifying field set ups. Having MSD in the side, is the best opportunity for Chennai Super Kings over the other sides.
THREAT:
A clear threat to the Super Kings is that the other sides have been better equipped than the previous editions. In the earlier editions, numerous teams had players in their battery who weren’t in the best of form. Take the Delhi Daredevils for example. The men in Yellow bossed over the Daredevils in the past few editions. However, this time around, the Delhi management has played its cards way too intelligently. They have picked reputed names in their ranks, and have players, who can win them the matches single handedly. Like DD, there are a few other sides as well, which are now better equipped to take on the Super Kings. Thus beating the other competitors will be far from an easy task for the Chennai Super Kings.
Chennai Super Kings Team FIXTURES for IPL 2015:
1. Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils – 9th April (8:00 pm) at Chennai
2. Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad – 11th April (4:00 pm) at Chennai
3. Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings – 14th April (8:00 pm) at Kolkata
4. Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings – 17th April (8:00 pm) at Mumbai
5. Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings – 19th April (4:00 pm) at Ahmedabad
6. Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings – 22nd April (8:00 pm) at Bangalore
7. Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab – 25th April (8:00 pm) at Chennai
8. Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders – 30th April (8:00 pm) at Chennai
9. Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Chennai Super Kings – 2nd May (8:00 pm) at Hyderabad
10. Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore – 4th May (4:00 pm) at Chennai
11. Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians – 8th May (8:00 pm) at Chennai
12. Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals – 10th May (8:00 pm) at Chennai
13. Delhi Daredevils vs Chennai Super Kings – 12th May (8:00 pm) at Raipur
14. Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings – 16th May (4:00 pm) at Mohali
Likely Position: Favourites to win IPL and none of us should be surprised if MS Dhoni and his men lift the trophy for the third time. This prediction will also depend on Fixtures of Chennai Super Kings and the players available for those CSK fixtures.