IPL 2021 Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Preview: Final Hurrah For MS Dhoni & Suresh Raina?

by Nitesh Mathur | Apr 3, 2021 | IPL

Chennai Super Kings Preview – IPL 2021.

April 2, 2011—”Dhoni finishes it off in style…India lift the World Cup after 28 years.” Exactly 10 years from the World Cup victory, it is possibly the final time we will see captain MS Dhoni & his eternal partner in crime, Suresh Raina.

After a disappointing 2020 season, do MS Dhoni & Suresh Raina have one final memory for the fans?

Also Read: MS Dhoni & Suresh Raina retire: A Tribute, IPL 2021 Auctions Review

IPL History

2010, 2011, 2018 – (Champions), 2008, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2019 (Runners Up), 2009, 2014 (3rd)

How Did They Do Last Year?

7th. 6 wins, 8 losses. Loss of Suresh Raina & Harbhajan Singh before the tournament and never really in contention. The athletic Faf du Plessis & Ruturaj Gaikwad were the only positives.

Injury & COVID-19 News

Josh Hazlewood has pulled out of IPL 2021. The bio-bubble effect is taking a toll on players’.

Complete Chennai Super Kings Squad

Batsman: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, C Hari Nishaanth, Narayan Jagadeesan,

WK: MS Dhoni, Robin Uthappa

All-Rounders: Krishnappa Gowtham, Ravindra Jadeja

Spinners: Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Karn Sharma

Fast Medium: Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Harishankar Reddy, Bhagath Verma

Overseas: Moeen Ali, Dwayne Bravo, Sam Curran, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner

*Josh Hazlewood (withdrawn)

Predicted CSK XI

1. Faf Du Plessis, 2. Ambati Rayudu, 3. Suresh Raina, 4. Ruturaj Gaikwad/Robin Uthappa, 5. MS Dhoni (C/WK), 6. Ravindra Jadeja, 7. Moeen Ali/Dwayne Bravo, 8. Sam Curran, 9. Deepak Chahar, 10. Shardul Thakur, 11. Imran Tahir

Watch Out For

• Shardul Thakur – Since the historic India vs Australia series, Shardul Thakur has been India’s X-factor, taking crucial wickets in the middle overs. The highest wicket-taker in both the England T20Is & ODIs, he is one to watch out for.
• Youngsters – Tamil Nadu won the Syed Mushtaq Ali this year with Hari Nishaanth, Jagadeesan, and S Rai Kishore. With Ruturaj’s coming of age in IPL 2020, these bunch will give CSK the much needed age balance.

Where Can Things Go Wrong For the Super Kings?

• The lack of out and out pace – Thakur, Chahar, Sam Curran, & Dwayne Bravo are all smart bowlers, but none have pace to send shivers through the opposition batsmen. With 8/14 of CSKs games at historically high scoring venues of Mumbai & Bangalore, I am not sure if they have enough variation in their attack. Tahir, R Sai Kishore, Jadeja, Gowtham, Moeen Ali, Santner, Karn Sharma would be a dream attack in Chennai, but no home advantage in COVID induced era has thrown their plans off.

Also Read: 7 Things that Went Wrong With CSK in 2020, CSK All-Time XI

Venues & Fixtures

Venues

Mumbai – 5 matches, Delhi – 4 matches , Bangalore – 3 matches , Kolkata – 2 matches

Fixtures

*Note: There is no home advantage in IPL 2021. Here is how “Home vs Away” is divided.

• 10 April: CSK vs DC (Mumbai)
• 16 April: PBKS vs CSK (Mumbai)
• 19 April: CSK vs RR (Mumbai)
• 21 April: KKR vs CSK (Mumbai)
• 25 April: CSK vs RCB (Mumbai)
• 28 April: CSK vs SRH (Delhi)
• 1 May: MI vs CSK (Delhi)
• 5 May: RR vs CSK (Delhi)
• 7 May: SRH vs CSK (Delhi)
• 9 May: CSK vs PBKS (Bangalore)
• 12 May: CSK vs KKR (Bangalore)
• 16 May: CSK vs MI (Bangalore)
• 21 May: DC vs CSK (Kolkata)
• 23 May: RCB vs CSK (Kolkata)

• 25 May: Qualifier 1 (Ahmedabad)
• 26 May: Eliminator (Ahmedabad)
• 28 May: Qualifier 2 (Ahmedabad)
• 30 May: Final (Ahmedabad)

Prediction

• Return of Raina, addition of Uthappa/Pujara, & youngsters might bolster the lineup, but the lack of home advantage would be too much to cope with. If they can win a few of the first 5 matches in Mumbai, they should have a settled lineup in Delhi.
• Game Plan: Simple. Win at least 3 out of the first 5. Otherwise out of the reckoning early.

What do you think of the Chennai Super Kings Preview? Your First XI? Will they make the IPL 2021 qualifiers?

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Copyright (2021: 4/3/2021)– @Nitesh Mathur, aka Nit-X – bcd@brokokencricketdreams.com