Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson – Chennai Super Kings
The three-time IPL winners Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are likely to retain their last opening pair combination as overseas cricketers will start their innings. Former Australian cricketer Shane Watson and former South African captain Faf du Plessis are likely to continue to serve for the CSK team as the opening partner. In the last IPL season, while Du Plessis scored 396 runs in 12 innings (average 36.00; strike-rate 123.36), Watson scored 398 runs in 17 innings (average 23.41; strike-rate 127.56).
However, if one of them is unavailable for the selection due to any reason, Indian cricketer Murali Vijay is likely to get the first priority.