IPL 2024 CSK: Will MS Dhoni be able to make Chennai champions again? Here is the full analysis
IPL 2024 CSK MS Dhoni: The Chennai Super Kings team led by MS Dhoni is ready to take the field once again. CSK won the IPL 2023 on the last ball, making the team win the title for the fifth time. There have been a lot of changes in the Chennai team since last year. But the core team remains the same every year. Will MS Dhoni and his team be able to pull off the same miracle that happened last year this time? Let’s analyze Chennai a bit and try to know more about the team.
MS Dhoni will return to the field in the IPL
CSK’s biggest strength is captain MS Dhoni. Now Dhoni will be seen in cricket again after about a year. Like every time, all eyes will be on them to see what steps they take to defeat the opposing team. MS Dhoni had to undergo knee surgery after IPL 2023. After that he didn’t come back onto the field. Although CSK has started training, they will not directly take to the field until March 22. The whole world recognizes the brilliance of MS Dhoni’s mind. He is a master spirit. It will be interesting to see if they can do this again after winning the title in 2023.
Dhoni’s performance in IPL 2023
Dhoni is not active in international cricket and now only plays IPL. If we talk about his performance in 2023, Dhoni had scored 104 runs in the IPL after 16 matches. He had an average of 26.0 and hit at a strike rate of 182.46. While keeping, he made seven catches and sent three players into the pavilion by overpowering them. Dhoni’s runs also look less as he didn’t get to bat in many innings. Even when he came onto the field, he was given very little ball to play with. Therefore, it is not his runs that should be monitored, but rather his strike rate.
Will Ruturaj Gaikwad be able to get off to a successful start?
The foundation for CSK’s victory was laid by opening batsmen Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway in recent years. Ruturaj Gaikwad is still there but Devon Conway is unlikely to feature this time. However, the team has not given any update regarding this yet. If Conway misses out, it is likely that Rachin Ravindra will get a chance as the team’s opening batsman. However, it remains to be seen what strategy the team will take into the field.
Gaikwad’s performance in the IPL will also secure the T20 World Cup claim
CSK’s victory depends a lot on Ruturaj Gaikwad but it will definitely take some time for him to get into form. Talking about IPL last year, Gaikwad had scored 590 runs in all matches for his team. This time after the IPL there is also the T20 World Cup. Gaikwad will have a good chance of staking his claim by batting strongly in the first few games. If we talk about Gaikwad’s entire IPL career, he has played 51 matches and scored 1797 runs so far. He has a 39.1 average and hits at a strike rate of 135.5. He has 14 centuries and a century to his name in this tournament.
CSK spent a lot of money on Daryl Mitchell
Apart from Rachin Ravindra, CSK has also included New Zealander Daryl Mitchell in their squad this time. While Rachin Ravindra was bought by CSK for just Rs 1.8 crore, the team had to spend Rs 14 crore on Daryl Mitchell. He previously played IPL for Rajasthan Royals but this will be his first association with CSK.
Mitchell could be Ben Stokes’ successor
Daryl Mitchell had performed brilliantly for his team in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. Maybe that was why the team had their eye on him. Although there is a difference between T20 and ODI, it will be interesting to see how Mitchell deals with it. This time Ben Stokes is not playing for CSK. It is believed that in such a situation, Mitchell was brought into the team as his replacement. It remains to be seen whether they will be able to make up for the lack of Stokes. If we talk about Daryl Mitchell’s T20 stats, he has played 195 T20 matches so far and scored 4251 runs. His average is 31.48 and the strike rate is 135.29. He has 21 centuries to his name in this format. He also has 76 wickets to his name.
Shardul Thakur is back at CSK
Bowlers have played an important role in MS Dhoni’s team. This is not from today, but from before. This time the team has also brought back Shardul Thakur to support Indian fast bowlers like Deepak Chahar. Thakur has also played for CSK once before, although he had since moved to another team, but this time CSK brought him back for a huge sum. If we look at his IPL stats, Thakur has taken 89 wickets in the 86 matches played so far. He also has 286 runs to his name. Thakur’s strength lies in his ability to score runs with the bat in addition to bowling. Due to this, the team’s batting line-up becomes quite long.
CSK has placed a big bet on Sameer Rizvi
This time too, the team gave many young and new players a chance. The most famous name is Sameer Rizvi. Very few people knew about Sameer Rizvi before the IPL auction but CSK had been eyeing him for a long time. That’s why he was included in the team after seeing a huge sum of Rs 8.4 million. He is an uncapped player so it will be interesting to see how he performs. After Suresh Raina’s IPL retirement, the team needs a reliable batsman at number three. There are many contenders for this number but it will be interesting to see who MS Dhoni trusts.
Also check out Sameer’s performance
Sameer Rizvi scored 277 runs in 7 matches during the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy 2023 and his average was 69.25. He bats at an average of over 139. He has two half-centuries to his name. How is the team doing this time? Many of the questions we have raised will be answered on March 22 when CSK takes on RCB in the first game.
The complete CSK team for IPL 2023 : MS Dhoni (captain), Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Devon Conway, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dubey, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rajvardhan Hangarkar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Mandal, Mukesh Chaudhary, Mathisha Pathirana, Ajinkya Rahane, Sheikh Rashid, Mitchell Santner, Simarjeet . Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Prashant Solanki, Mahesh Theekshana, Rachin Ravindra, Shardul Thakur, Daryl Mitchell, Sameer Rizvi, Mustafizur Rahman, Avnish Rao Aravali.
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