Leaders Online Desk : IPL 2024 CSK : M.S. Under the leadership of Dhoni, the team of Chennai Super Kings is ready to enter the field once again. CSK clinched the 2023 IPL trophy with the last ball to tie Mumbai for a record fifth title. There have been many changes in the Chennai team since last year. With these changes, fans as well as cricket analysts are curious to see if Captain Kul Dhoni can pull off the miracle of hitting a title-winning six.
CSK's biggest strength is captain M.S. Dhoni is Cricket fans are excited to see him play after a year. Dhoni underwent knee surgery after the 2023 IPL. He did not enter the field after that. CSK has started practice for this season. Dhoni's team will face Virat Kohli's RCB on March 22. This is the inaugural match. It will be interesting to see if they can repeat it again after winning the title in 2023.
Dhoni's performance in IPL 2023 (IPL 2024 CSK)
Dhoni scored 104 runs in 16 matches in IPL 2023. He batted at a strike rate of 182.46. During this time he averaged 26.0. While keeping wicket, he took 7 catches and sent three players to the pavilion. Dhoni's batting run statistics are disappointing.
Rachin replaces Conway to pair with Rituraj
Over the years, openers Rituraj Gaikwad and Devon Conway have laid the foundation for CSK's victories. Gaikwad will be seen playing; But his opening partner Conway has been ruled out of the tournament due to injury. In this way, there is a possibility that Rachin Ravindra will be given a chance as an opener.
CSK's victory is highly dependent on Gaikwad. But it will definitely take some time for him to get into form. In last year's IPL, Gaikwad played all matches and scored 590 runs for his team. This time T20 World Cup will also be held after IPL. Gaikwad will have a good chance to stake his claim by batting strongly in the first few matches. Gaikwad has played 51 matches in his IPL career so far and scored 1797 runs. His average is 39.1 and strike rate is 135.5. He has 14 fifties and one century to his name in this tournament. (IPL 2024 CSK)
CSK pays huge amount for Mitchell
Apart from Rachin Ravindra, CSK has also included New Zealander Darryl Mitchell in their team this time. Rachin Ravindra was bought by CSK for just 1.8 crores, while Daryl Mitchell spent Rs 14 crores. Mitchell has previously played for Rajasthan Royals.
Will Mitchell replace Ben Stokes?
Darrell Mitchell was brilliant for New Zealand in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. Maybe that's why Dhoni's team kept eye on him. This time Ben Stokes is not playing for CSK. In such a situation, it is believed that Mitchell has been included in the team in his place. Whether he succeeds in making up for Stokes' absence, the coming tournament will tell. Mitchell has played 195 T20 matches so far and scored 4251 runs. His average is 31.48 and strike rate is 135.29. He has 21 fifties to his name in this format. He has also taken 76 wickets while bowling.
Shardul Thakur's comeback
This time the team has taken Deepak Chahar's partner Shardul Thakur in the team by spending a huge amount. Thakur has taken 89 wickets in 86 IPL matches he has played so far. He also has 286 runs to his name. He has the ability to score runs with the bat as well as bowling.
Big bet on Sameer Rizvi
CSK has given a chance to new players this time too. The most prominent name in this is that of Sameer Rizvi. Few people would know about Rizvi before the IPL auction. But CSK had their eyes on him for a long time. Due to this, he has been included in the team by calculating a huge amount of 8.4 crores. He is an uncapped player. So it will be interesting to see how he performs.
CSK Team: M.S. Dhoni (captain), Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dubey, Rituraj Gaekwad, Rajvardhan Hangarkar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Mondal, Mukesh Chaudhary, Mathisha Pathirana, Ravindran Sheikh Rashid, Mitchell Santner, Simarjeet Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Prashant Solanki , Mahesh Tekshana, Rachin Ravindra, Shardul Thakur, Daryl Mitchell, Sameer Rizvi, Mustafizur Rahman, Avnish Rao Aravali.