The franchise will feature the SUVs and Gaikwad to add urgency to its approach.
Where did they end up in 2020
Second from the bottom, with six wins in 14 games at a net run rate of minus 0.455. It was the first time the Chennai Super Kings had failed to make the playoffs in their 11 IPL seasons.
Potential XI
1 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2 Moeen ali, 3 Suresh Raina / Robin Uthappa, 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Sam curran, 8 Dwayne Bravo, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Imran Tahir
Wadding
The Super Kings had the second worst run rate in powerplay (7.13), as well as mid over (7.37) in the last IPL. They could remedy this delay by putting their new recruit Moeen Ali at the top. England’s off-roader paved the way for Worcestershire Rapids in the power play in 2018 and 2019 by hitting regularly and effortlessly over the top. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who finished the 2020 season strong, with a half-century hat-trick, will likely continue to start.
Suresh Raina has returned to setup after abruptly retiring from last season, but she’s past her prime, as is MS Dhoni. Both players, and even Ambati Rayudu, haven’t had much playing time since the last IPL. To compound his concerns, Ravindra Jadeja has also not played competitive cricket since January 2020, having suffered a thumb injury during the test leg of the Australia tour. Lack of playing time for the middle order could again be a thorny issue for the Super Kings.
Faf du Plessis, who led batting and fielding for the Super Kings in the United Arab Emirates, could be relegated to reserves this season due to team mix.
Bowling
Josh Hazlewood has opted out of the tournament and Lungi Ngidi will only join the team later after his commitments to South Africa, but Dwayne Bravo is back in shape, having pitched to the death of the West Indies against Sri Lanka in home. Sam Curran, who got an excellent rating from Dhoni in his first season with the Super Kings, and Shardul Thakur, who has been a glutton of recent times, add more variety to the seam attack. The presence of a host of Indian hitting options this time around could allow team management to place Imran Tahir in the XI without a hitch.
The absence of a secondary player last year left them vulnerable against the heavy left-handed sides, but now they have Ali and K Gowtham to counter them, although neither Wankhede nor Chinnaswamy will help the spin. However, the attack seems much healthier compared to the batting lineup.
Young player (s) to consider
“Young people on our team? That’s an oxymoron! (Laughs)”. This was coach Stephen Fleming’s joke last year. The Super Kings continue to rely on their 30s, but if they choose to give Jadeja breaks and handle him more carefully after the recent injury, R Sai Kishore offers them a decent option. The 24-year-old is a left-arm version of Washington Sundar who threatens the stumps and hits hard on the power play. Sai Kishore had finished the most recent Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament with an economy rate of 4.82, the second best among bowlers who delivered at least 20 overs. Last season, he had the best economy among bowlers who had sent at least 20 overs.
Then there’s Harishankar Reddy, 22, the third-youngest member of the team behind Bhagath Varma and Curran. Andhra’s closer can hit Yorkers with a sling arm, whip action and had even dropped Dhoni during a practice match at Chepauk last month.
Coaching staff
Stephen Fleming (head coach), Mike Hussey (hitting coach), L Balaji (bowling coach), Eric Simons (bowling coach), Rajiv Kumar (field coach)
Poll
Deivarayan Muthu is deputy editor of ESPNcricinfo
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