Defending champions Chennai Super Kings will look to give their all to match the championship tally of arch-rivals Mumbai Indians. MS Dhoni’s Dad’s Army will start their campaign against last season’s runners-up Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 opener.
Chennai has managed to bring back its former players after doing some serious business in the mega auction. He brought back Deepak Chahar, Ambati Rayudu, Robin Uthappa and Dwayne Bravo to bring his core team back into the group. Meanwhile, Chahar’s injury remains a serious concern for the defending champions as he is expected to miss the first half of the season. CSK have been the most consistent side in the history of the tournament as they have qualified for the play-offs a record 10 times and will look to maintain their record this season.
Five players to watch from Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2022
Ravindra Jadeja
The southpaw has been a key force in the CSK-dominated show over the past few seasons. The all-rounder has transformed himself into one of the best in world cricket at the moment. Jadeja, who was earlier known for his bowling, has worked hard on his batting abilities. Last season, he defeated Purple Cap winner Harshal Patel to equalize the record of 37 runs in an over during a group stage clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore. CSK put a lot of faith in the southpaw and retained him for a massive INR 15 crores, which is more than what they paid to their captain MS Dhoni. Jadeja is someone who can take over the captaincy from Dhoni after retiring from IPL.
Ruturaj Gaikwadi
Last season’s Orange Cap winner has a big responsibility to play at the top of the innings this year in the absence of his former opening partner Faf du Plessis. The duo showered a lot of praise for each other in IPL 2021 and ended up as the top two run-getters of the season. Gaikwad will have to work with a new opener this season as CSK can pick either Devon Conway or Robin Uthappa. The talented youngster has fully recovered from a wrist injury and will be available for the opening match against KKR. All eyes will be on him as CSK will depend heavily on him to give him a good start this season.
Moeen Ali
There has been a revelation in the T20 format after the English all-rounder joined Chennai Super Kings. The southpaw joined the Yellow Army last season and made a huge impact immediately, scoring 357 runs in his debut season for CSK. Dhoni used the left-hander as a floater at the No. 3 position and gave him the license to attack the bowlers and accelerate the scoring rate. Ali impressed CSK’s management so much that they retained him on some of their experienced players ahead of the auction. In Suresh Raina’s absence, Ali will be very important to stabilize the innings for CSK in the middle order.
Deepak Chahri
The auction was all out for the four-time champion Chahar as they broke the bank to sign him for Rs 14 crore. Captain Dhoni and the management showed great faith in Chahar’s skills and decided to bid heavily for the premier pacer. However, his fitness is a big concern for the CSK team as he has not fully recovered from the hamstring injury. If reports are to be believed, he will definitely miss at least the first half of the season. CSK have invested heavily in Chahar and now they don’t have a choice of choice for him. However, whenever he makes a comeback, he is going to make headlines for his wicket-taking skills with the new ball.
M S Dhoni
No one knows when Dhoni will announce his retirement from IPL but till then he is going to be one of the biggest superstars of the league. Dhoni has a huge fan following in the world of cricket which is second to none and everyone will wait for his batting in every CSK match. The veteran wicketkeeper-batsman didn’t have the best of performances with the bat last season, where he scored just 114 runs, but his captaincy ability was enough for his team to win a fourth IPL title. In his final years of cricket, Dhoni would like to use his might to entertain the fans and guide the Yellow Army to another title win.
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