Saurabh Saket ∙ Nov 17 2022, 3:30 AM

Can Chennai Super Kings just be done with the old & gritty formula

image-lajqy1g4 MS Dhoni will once again lead the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2023 (Source: Twitter)

The Chennai Super Kings have always preferred to go with their old and trusty combination of trusting their same experienced players over and over again. I love the Super Kings with all my heart but to be very honest I've grown tired of witnessing the same issues after every auction.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni will once again don the gloves for the franchise leading the charge from the front after last season's disastrous attempt to hand off the leadership responsibilities to Ravindra Jadeja.

The franchise had retained 18 of their former players from last season which gives an obvious inkling that the franchise won't make any major changes to their playing eleven this season. But with around 20 crores in their purse it is pretty sure the franchise won't sit idle throughout the auction.

CSK List of Released Players: Dwayne Bravo, Robin Uthappa, Adam Milne, Hari Nishaanth, Chris Jordan, Bhagath Varma, KM Asif, Narayan Jagadeesan

CSK Remaining Purse for IPL Auction 2023: ₹ 20.45 crores

CSK Remaining Overseas Slots for IPL 2023: 2 players

CSK Total Slots Remaining for IPL 2023: 7 players

The big dilemma for Chennai Super Kings

image-lajnvkhm Ravindra Jadeja is likely to make a return for the Super Kings after his knee injury (Source: Twitter)

This is an unpopular opinion but Ravindra Jadeja is a double-edged sword for the four-time champions this season. While he was a puzzle perfect fit for the franchise in the prior seasons, this time around his presence may create some dilemma fielding the snuggle fit playing eleven.

Jadeja's presence in the squad creates some abnormalities, having an impact player in the squad does a lot of favour but that would leave a void because the franchise desperately need a death bowling specialist as always.

Now Jadeja's presence ensure that CSK will take to the middle with three spin options in Moeen Ali, Maheesh Theekshana and Ravindra Jadeja. The presence of Deepak Chahar and Mukesh Chowdhary as two bowling options up top gives us five bowling options already in the mix, leaves one thing that is missing as always; death bowling options.

While Dwayne Bravo was released by the franchise call it an internal gut feeling, but I'm sure the West Indian talisman will return back to the franchise. That just leaves one spot for a foreign death over specialist which can solve some of our existing problems.

Most Suitable Fit: Sam Curran, the English allrounder has been the talk of the town and acquiring his signatures would not be an easy task with ₹ 20.45 crores in the purse. Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad could prove a big challenge for CSK but having Curran would be a snuggle fit.

Do CSK actually have a deep deep batting unit?

image-lajq6wtc Chennai Super Kings boast one of the deepest batting units in the Indian Premier League (Source: Twitter)

The Chennai Super Kings have a great depth in the batting order with the team able to bat down till number eight/nine. But is that actually the case, while one could depend on the opening partnership of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway, it would be a lie if I said that I hold trust in Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dubey, MS Dhoni and Dwaine Pretorius.

I mean they have what it takes to win one odd match a season with their batting but are you willing to bet that these batters have it in themselves to hold down the fort and finish the match for this side. The team could do a lot with the presence of an experienced middle order batter that can ferry the boat and give the needed consistency.

Most Suitable Fit: Manish Pandey, the exiled Indian batter has been out of touch for the past few seasons, but there is no doubt that the batter has what it takes to give a complete touch to the middle order.

Also Read: Saw you grow from a little boy from Maloney to dominating the toughest T20 league: Dwayne Bravo

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