CSK (Chennai Super Kings) skipper MS Dhoni landed in Chennai on Tuesday ahead of the departure of a group of players to the UAE, which will host the remainder of the Indian Premier League next month. A bunch of Indian players will travel to the UAE most likely on August 13, a top CSK official said.
With just a few weeks left for the IPL 2021 Phase 2, BCCI has given permission to the franchises to start heading to UAE after August 10. The MS Dhoni-led CSK franchise is looking to head over to Dubai next weekend. CSK has confirmed that the players and support staff will leave for Dubai on August 13. The CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan has said that the team is looking to arrive in Dubai on August 14 or 15.
CSK Skipper MS Dhoni Lands In Chennai
It is notable that Chennai Super Kings usually starts practice a month or at least 15 days earlier as several players from the franchise are retired while some of them are yet to play in the international arena. Thus, the training helps them get in the groove and ensure they are on top of the opposition from the onset. They had previously started training in Chennai for a month ahead of the IPL 2021. The results showed for it as they won 5 out of 7 matches in the opening leg.
“Indian players in the team, whoever is available, will travel to UAE on August 13 in all likelihood,” CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan told PTI.
Fans celebrated MS Dhoni’s arrival in Chennai on social media.
“Lion Day Entry,” CSK posted with a photo of Dhoni on its Twitter handle about the captain reaching the city. There will be no camp in Chennai before the CSK players fly out to the UAE, Viswanathan said.
The second half of the IPL 2021 will be held in UAE from September 19 after the tournament was postponed due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in its bubble.
The BCCI then decided to conduct the remaining matches in the UAE, which successfully hosted IPL 2020. CSK resumes its IPL campaign on September 19 with a match against Mumbai Indians. The MS Dhoni-led side was in the second spot with 10 points after seven games before the league was postponed due to a bio bubble breach.
CSK’s Three Key Foreign Players Are Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, And Faf du Plessis
The England all-rounder Moeen Ali was the star performer for the side during the first half of IPL 2021 and something similar is expected from him in the UAE leg too. CSK’s new No.3, Moeen Ali slammed 206 runs in six innings at an average of 34.33 and a strike rate of 157.25. He also picked up five wickets and turned a couple of games on his own.
Sam Curran is a key all-rounder for the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings. The English all-rounder had a wonderful outing in the IPL 2020 edition and was one of the few positives for the side which had a forgettable campaign. In IPL 2020, Sam Curran scored 186 runs and also picked up 13 wickets in 14 innings.
Chennai Super Kings batting mainstay Faf du Plessis is the third leading run-getter in the IPL 2021 phase 1. The former South Africa skipper has amassed 320 runs in 7 innings at an average of 64.00, including 4 fifties. He is a vital cog in the batting lineup for CSK.
The platform laid by Faf du Plessis and opener Ruturaj Gaikwad (196 runs at a strike rate of 128.94) eased the pressure on the middle order and went a long way enabling CSK to put up massive totals. Ambati Rayudu-136 runs, Ravindra Jadeja-131 runs, Suresh Raina-123 runs also were among runs.