Chennai Super Kings will be determined to erase their IPL 2020 nightmare when they failed to make it to the IPL play-offs for the first time.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's CSK opens its campaign by taking on Delhi Capitals in Mumbai on April 10.
The return of veteran Suresh Raina adds to the experience in the CSK batting department, which also boasts seasoned campaigners like Dhoni, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, new recruit Moeen Ali and the young Ruturaj Gaikwad.
With the likes of pacers Lungi Ngidi, Shardul Thakur, Sam Curran and Deepak Chahar in the line-up, CSK also have a decent fast bowling unit.
CSK also have a capable spin department in Mitchell Santner, Jadeja, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma, and Moeen along with the uncapped Krishnappa Gowtham and R Sai Kishore among others.
A look at the CSK's IPL records:
Squad:
| Age | Bats | Bowls | Role | IPL games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M S Dhoni | 39 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | Captain/'keeper | 204 |
| Suresh Raina | 34 | Left-handed | Right-arm off-break | Batsman | 193 |
| Ambati Rayudu | 35 | Right-handed | Right-arm off-break | Batsman | 159 |
| Faf du Plessis | 36 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg-break | Batsman | 84 |
| Cheteshwar Pujara | 33 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg-break | Batsman | 30 |
| Ruturaj Gaikwad | 24 | Right-handed | Right-arm off-break | Batsman | 6 |
| C Hari Nishaanth | 24 | Left-handed | Right-arm off-break | Batsman | 0 |
| Robin Uthappa | 35 | Right-handed | Wicketkeeper | 189 | |
| Narayan Jagadeesan | 25 | Right-handed | Wicketkeeper | 5 | |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 32 | Left-handed | Left-arm spin | All-rounder | 184 |
| Dwayne Bravo | 37 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | All-rounder | 140 |
| Karn Sharma | 33 | Left-handed | Right-arm leg-break | All-rounder | 68 |
| Krishnappa Gowtham | 32 | Right-handed | Right-arm off-break | Bowler | 24 |
| Sam Curran | 22 | Left-handed | Left-arm fast-medium | All-rounder | 23 |
| Mitchell Santner | 29 | Left-handed | Left-arm spin | All-rounder | 6 |
| Moeen Ali | 33 | Left-handed | Right-arm off-break | All-rounder | 19 |
| Bhagath Varma | 22 | Right-handed | Right-arm off-break | All-rounder | 0 |
| Deepak Chahar | 28 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | Bowler | 48 |
| Shardul Thakur | 29 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | Bowler | 45 |
| Lungi Ngidi | 25 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | Bowler | 11 |
| KM Asif | 27 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | Bowler | 2 |
| Harishankar Reddy | 22 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | Bowler | 0 |
| Imran Tahir | 42 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg-break | Bowler | 58 |
| R Sai Kishore | 24 | Left-handed | Left-arm spin | Bowler | 0 |
Note: The players in bold are overseas players
Josh Hazlewood, who was in the squad, has withdrawn from this year's IPL
Players bought at this year's IPL auction:
Cheteshwar Pujara
C Hari Nishaanth
Moeen Ali
Bhagath Varma
Harishankar Reddy
Krishnappa Gowtham
Note: Robin Uthappa was bought in the trading window before the IPL auction.
Overall win-loss record in IPL:
| Played | Won | Lost | No Result | Win% | W/L ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 179 | 106 | 72 | 1 | 59.22 | 1.47 |
Note: The win/loss tally includes results in Super Over after a tie
Best finish in IPL:
Champions in 2010, 2011 and 2018.
How they fared in each edition:
| Year | 2nd |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 4th |
| 2009 | 1st |
| 2010 | 1st |
| 2011 | 2nd |
| 2012 | 2nd |
| 2013 | 3rd |
| 2014 | 2nd |
| 2015 | Did not play |
| 2016 | Did not play |
| 2017 | 1st |
| 2018 | 2nd |
| 2019 | 7th |
| 2020 | 2nd |
Top batsmen:
| Mts | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate | 100 | 50 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S K Raina | 164 | 4527 | 100* | 33.28 | 137.39 | 1 | 32 |
| M S Dhoni | 174 | 4058 | 84* | 42.71 | 138.64 | 0 | 21 |
| F du Plessis | 76 | 2088 | 96 | 33.14 | 129.52 | 0 | 14 |
| M E K Hussey | 50 | 1768 | 116* | 42.09 | 123.63 | 1 | 13 |
| M Vijay | 70 | 1708 | 127 | 25.87 | 125.12 | 2 | 7 |
| S Badrinath | 95 | 1441 | 71* | 30.65 | 118.89 | 0 | 11 |
| S R Watson | 43 | 1252 | 117* | 30.53 | 136.38 | 2 | 7 |
| A T Rayudu | 45 | 1243 | 100* | 35.51 | 125.93 | 1 | 5 |
| M L Hayden | 32 | 1107 | 93 | 36.90 | 137.51 | 0 | 8 |
| R A Jadeja | 116 | 1097 | 50 | 24.37 | 133.94 | 0 | 1 |
Top bowlers:
| Games | Wickets | Average | Runs Per Over | Best | 4W | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D J Bravo | 95 | 110 | 23.50 | 8.38 | 4-42 | 1 |
| R Ashwin | 97 | 90 | 24.22 | 6.45 | 3-16 | 0 |
| R A Jadeja | 116 | 87 | 26.81 | 7.61 | 5-16 | 4 |
| J A Morkel | 78 | 76 | 27.07 | 8.09 | 4-32 | 1 |
| M M Sharma | 48 | 58 | 22.17 | 7.81 | 4-14 | 1 |
| S B Jakati | 50 | 45 | 26.20 | 7.74 | 4-22 | 2 |
| D L Chahar | 43 | 44 | 26.27 | 7.47 | 3-15 | 0 |
| M Muralitharan | 40 | 40 | 24.85 | 6.37 | 3-11 | 0 |
| D E Bollinger | 27 | 37 | 18.72 | 7.21 | 4-13 | 1 |
| S N Thakur | 32 | 34 | 29.03 | 9.06 | 2-18 | 0 |
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
Thala Dhoni 'fully loaded' in the nets...
Who has hit the most 6s in IPL?
'We are confident Pant will do a good job'
CSK sign Behrendorff as Hazlewood replacement
IPL: Which bowler has best economy rate?