The 2023 season of the IPL can as well be the last season for one of the most decorated Indian cricketers of all time. MS Dhoni, as all signs already point towards, may finally hang his boots up for good after this year's league. What better way for him to go out, other than at the top, where the team and man actually belong?
Batting Line-up or The Great Wall of China?
CSK, on paper, is shaping up to be one of the most balanced and dangerous sides of the competition. To start with, the presence of all-rounders like Ben Stokes, Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, and Mitchell Santner in their line-up provides them immense balance. All of the players mentioned above can anchor as well as attack with the bat.
The fact that Deepak Chahar will come in at number 8 or even 9 depending on the combination speaks volumes of how deep CSK bats. One thing that we might see this season can be Dhoni's promotion up the order. Ben Stokes, Jadeja, Dube, Santner and Chahar will be the batters the franchise will be betting on to finish things off, while Dhoni might be expected to play a slightly different role at number 4 or 5.
Depending on the team combination either Ben Stokes or DevonConway will open with Ruturaj Gaikawad, who himself can be a force to reckon with on his day. All in all CSK's batting will be their strongest suit this time around and will also present them an opportunity to put on some extra 1--15 runs for their bowling line-up to defend.
Chunks in The Armour
With Mukesh Choudhary out injured, CSK will have to go over their bowling combination. Jadeja, Stokes, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube and Mitchell Santner will be the all-round options, but other than Maheesh Theekshana, the franchise doesn't really have a top-tier bowler up in their ranks, and that is what can be really threatining to their title-winning effot.
Although the all-round options will more often than not get the job done, it will be interesting to see how CSK uses Simarjeet Singh as a bowling option.
Chennai Super Kings will open their campaign against defending champions Gujarat Titans on March 31.
