Cricketer-turned-commentator from India, Aakash Chopra during his SWOT analysis maintained that four-time IPL champions – Mumbai Indians stand as the major threat for MS Dhoni-led side in the upcoming edition of IPL. Chopra added that there are not many threats to talk about, but some areas might be a cause of concern including injuries.
Considering the record of their matches, Indians had always a better hand on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) since the beginning of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Over the years, Chennai hand found things tough to tackle Rohit Sharma-led side. Former Indian batsman further stated that CSK have faltered to overcome Indians most of the times.
Mumbai Indians always got the better of Chennai Super Kings: Aakash Chopra
Personally, the 42-year-old Chopra had observed that the Yellow Army had somewhat struggled in the precarious situations against Indians.
On picking Indians as one such team which stands out as best against Chennai, Chopra reiterated that CSK team has not been able to exhibit what they could have had against the Mumbai-based franchise.
“Talking about the threats, they have Mumbai Indians as their biggest threat. If you see the history of the IPL, this is one team against whom they have not been able to display their magic. They tend to lose to the Mumbai Indians,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Given to the statistics, Mumbai had a wood over Chennai with saw them winning 17 whereas, CSK managed to bag 11 victories. Thus, it stands as the worst record for CSK against any of the teams in the lucrative league.
While speaking about further weaknesses of the CSK, Chopra feels that some top players lack match practice given to their unavailability in the competitive leg. Also, he believes CSK lack in having match-winners, and some of the players might not even get a game.
“We have seen with Shane Watson last year, that he had difficulties because of not having played continuously. Now along with him, MS Dhoni has not played for a long time, Rayudu, Vijay, Kedar Jadhav. If you are away from cricket for a long time, then it eventually shows up. So this could be a problem or a weakness.
“There are some players in the team whom you may not be able to play because they do not have match-winners beyond their top 15-16 players,” Aakash Chopra stated.
CSK would not want injuries: Aakash Chopra
Besides, speaking about the slow UAE pitches, Chopra cites the hot and humid conditions as another threat to CSK. He believes CSK lacks flexibility given the options despite having veteran Dhoni at the helm of affairs.
“One more thing is that, it is going to be extremely hot in the UAE. That is another threat, because in that heat you would be playing back to back matches, the squad is very tight-knit, you don’t have too much manoeuvrability,” Chopra further said.
Furthermore, he maintained that CKS can’t afford injuries during this edition of the IPL.
“They should not have injuries as well because if the team is little old there is a danger of injuries, which could be a slight problem. But then as we say, Dhoni is there to manage everything,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
Chennai Super Kings will play lung-opener against defending champions Mumbai Indians on September 19 at Sheikh Zayed International Stadium.