Chennai Super Kings did fail to qualify for the playoffs for the first time last year. However, that could be considered as one of the blips. IPL 2021 could very well be the last time we will be watching captain cool MS Dhoni, well known as Thala amongst Chennai Fans. we might see players pushing hard for the trophy under MS Dhoni one last time. Chennai Super kings again picked up players according to their home conditions fitting it best for the spinners.
Well we’re here predicting the strongest line-up Chennai Super Kings will have to start with but we never know what MS Dhoni have in his mind for the squad.
IPL 2021: Strongest XI for Chennai Super Kings
Openers: Faf Du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad
Faf Du Plessis will be the ideal opener for CSK where we like to take the innings deep after playing a few shots in the powerplay. But this year, the role might be changed as Ruturaj can do the same thing quite well and we have already seen him scoring match-winning knocks last year in few matches.
Middle Order: Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu and MS Dhoni
CSK missed his services badly last year and poor batting was one of the major reasons behind them failing to qualify for the second round. Suresh Raina runs scoring ability in the middle overs against the spinners never goes unnoticed and he had an exceptional season when CSK won the trophy all 3 times.
He will be followed by senior batsman Ambati Rayudu. Dhoni likes to back seniors and Rayudu will be given preference. Dhoni will bat at 5. Just as an obvious choice. Cheteshwar Pujara needs to wait a few more time. But everybody will love to see him play a one match during the complete season.
All Rounders: Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja and K Gowtham
Dwayne Bravo has been the backbone of CSK over the years, but his recent performance hasn’t been impressive. Moeen Ali, who was acquired for 7 crores can be a good aggressive option to play in the middle-order. Moreover, CSK needed an offspinner, and Ali is a really good option for that.
Sam Curran has bowled exceptionally well last year and added runs too. He can slot a few sixes at the end to score big. Ravindra Jadeja who’s one of the worlds best all-rounder and pretty good at all the 3 departments.
Krishnappa Gowtham is the costliest player picked by CSK in this mini-auction and will definitely play as he’s a great off-spinner choice and handy batsmen. CSK’s home ground Chidambaram Stadium demands Spinners and Chennai has bagged it quite well
Bowlers: Deepak Chahar and Jose Hazelwood
CSK already have spinning options from Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja and K Gowtham. Deepak is confirmed to lead the pace attack and could be assisted by Sam Curran and Jose Hazlewood. Having 6 bowlers in the team have an option to rotate the bowlers and MS Dhoni is quite experienced with that.
CSK Strongest XI: Faf Du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(C& Wk), Sam Curran, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, K Gowtham, Deepak Chahar and Jose Hazelwood.
