IPL 2023 mini auctions: Stephen Fleming and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the bosses at Chennai Super Kings had quite a decent auction. The 'Yellow Army' will be expectant of the fact that Chennai change their fortunes this time around and field an eleven that can take their trophy count to 5. As of now, Chennai Super Kings have won 4 championships in 15 IPL seasons (2010, 1011, 2018 & 2021). CSK broke the bank for English Test skipper Ben Stokes and they can certainly use him in the leadership group.
Stokes and MS Dhoni were an ensemble part of the Rising Pune Supergiant franchise and they have loads of experience playing with each other. have no doubts about it that MS Dhoni is headed towards the finishing line of his career, but only he can call time on it. Stokes certainly can be a potent replacement for Dhoni and can take on the captaincy duties after he bows out. The men in yellow have also roped in Ajinkya Rahane and his experience can certainly be used at the top of the order. With Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad slated to open, it will be interesting to see if Rahane makes the cut. MS Dhoni is always known for his out-of-the-box decisions and hence you never know what is playing on his mind.
The Indian Premier League in its 16th edition will return to the same format. One home game and one away game. CSK will play at the mighty Chepauk and it will be one spectacle to see them play at their home ground. Chennai have also roped in Kiwi bowler Kyle Jamieson and they certainly might benefit from him.
This is what Chennai Super Kings' starting XI might look like (sorted according to batting order):
Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ben Stokes, Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Deepak Chahar, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary
Chennai Super Kings' squad after 2023 mini auctions:
MS Dhoni (c), Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Subhranshu Senapati, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Chowdhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Simarjeet Singh, Deepak Chahar, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana, Ajinkya Rahane, Ben Stokes, Shaik Rasheed, Nishant Sindhu, Kyle Jamieson, Ajay Mandal, Bhagath Varma
Players retained ahead of the mini-auction
MS Dhoni (c), Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Subhranshu Senapati, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Chowdhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Simarjeet Singh, Deepak Chahar, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana.
