Looks like Shane Watson has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, including IPL! Thanks for all the lovely memories, Watto! But yes, this is the right time and good that you've done it. The IPL 2019 final with that bloodied leg will remain my 'all time favorite Watto-moment'
IPL Chennai Super Kings | #WhistlePodu
- Thread starter SK-ZC
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Bevab
Staff Member
Brilliant player for us despite not being way past his peak when he signed on. Hope he gets to be around our coaching staff, a player of his elite mentality can only be a positive experience in our team going forward.
The expectation is that he is likely to stick around the CSK camp in some coaching capacity. He seems to have connected on a deeper level with the CSK franchise (from his talks/messages till date) and so I expect him to stay with us in some capacity going forward.
The Hindu article about the possible 'mega auction' has surely stirred up huge excitement for CSK fans on social media. Who do you guys think CSK should retain if the previous retention policy (5 players max with a total of 3 retainers + 2 RTM's) is used again? In case they reduce the retention policy to only 2-3 players (likely since a 9th team is coming in), who will be your priority picks? Here is mine:
If current retention policy is kept
Retain: Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni
RTM: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Chahar
If 3 players are only allowed to be retained
Retain: Sam Curran, MS Dhoni
RTM: Ravindra Jadeja
MS Dhoni has become such a tricky situation for CSK. The owners have confirmed that he will be retained for 2021. Dhoni has said he is "DEFINITELY NOT" retiring from IPL. Which means, Dhoni will take up one slot among the retainers. It works best for CSK if we get 5 retainers because then, we can use RTM on Ruturaj and Chahar and get them back. Just cannot see the likes of Faf Du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, etc retained in any way possible (if CSK was not so emotional about Dhoni, I would have wanted Faf Du Plessis to be retained in place of MSD for either scenarios above; Faf is 3 years younger than MSD and in roaring form and has been amongst the rare bright lights for CSK this 2020 season).
Hope CSK get a proper analyst this time who can give them the right inputs to go after the correct players. Cant be wasting money like last time by buying the likes of Jadhav, Chawla, Karn, etc. And another sincere prayer - DONT PICK A SQUAD FOR CHEPAUK! Pick a balanced squad where the average age is no higher than 28.
If current retention policy is kept
Retain: Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni
RTM: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Chahar
If 3 players are only allowed to be retained
Retain: Sam Curran, MS Dhoni
RTM: Ravindra Jadeja
MS Dhoni has become such a tricky situation for CSK. The owners have confirmed that he will be retained for 2021. Dhoni has said he is "DEFINITELY NOT" retiring from IPL. Which means, Dhoni will take up one slot among the retainers. It works best for CSK if we get 5 retainers because then, we can use RTM on Ruturaj and Chahar and get them back. Just cannot see the likes of Faf Du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, etc retained in any way possible (if CSK was not so emotional about Dhoni, I would have wanted Faf Du Plessis to be retained in place of MSD for either scenarios above; Faf is 3 years younger than MSD and in roaring form and has been amongst the rare bright lights for CSK this 2020 season).
Hope CSK get a proper analyst this time who can give them the right inputs to go after the correct players. Cant be wasting money like last time by buying the likes of Jadhav, Chawla, Karn, etc. And another sincere prayer - DONT PICK A SQUAD FOR CHEPAUK! Pick a balanced squad where the average age is no higher than 28.
Yes. It surfaced before IPL 2020. But the sound bytes given by the owners during and towards the end of IPL 2020 tells us that they are planning to retain him for the next season and not put him back into the auction.
CSK players in terrific form in the Vijay Hazare trophy that has just started. Uthappa and Jagadeesan scored hundreds on the same day against their respective oppositions. And today, Ruturaj has scored a hundred while captaining Maharashtra.
I feel CSK should rework their strategy for this year where they stack up their batting with a mix of young and experienced Indian batters, while stacking up their bowling with overseas bowlers. In this scenario, I see Faf Du Plessis play very less no of games (though he did well last year, that was UAE and this time in India and with Raina back, we won't need him as much)
This is what I would play for most games (more so if IPL is played in Mumbai/Motera):
Ruturaj/Jaggi
Uthappa
Raina
Rayudu
Dhoni
Moeen
Jadeja
Curran/Bravo
Chahar
Ngidi
Hazlewood/Tahir
If Faf needs to play, he can play at 4 (replacing Rayudu) and Moeen can be replaced by Gowtham where Gowtham slots after Curran. In flat batting conditions of Wankhede, Hazlewood plays which will mean CSK playing with 4 seamers (Curran/Bravo, Chahar, Ngidi and Hazlewood) and 2 spinners (Jadeja and Moeen/Gowtham). If we get a spinner friendly track, Tahir plays for Hazlewood and we play 3 seamers + 3 spinners.
If everything goes smoothly from here on and no player backs out or misses due to injury, CSK can really have a solid chance with all the flexibility at their disposal. A bad run of form for Raina or Rayudu can bring in Faf or Pujara as replacement. If Uthappa fails, Pujara or Rayudu can move up and open. There is also Hari Nishaanth if CSK needs a left handed opener. CSK to me, have plugged a lot of holes and have really given them many backup options to fall back on. All depends on how Dhoni and Fleming move the coins in the right way to take this team forward
I feel CSK should rework their strategy for this year where they stack up their batting with a mix of young and experienced Indian batters, while stacking up their bowling with overseas bowlers. In this scenario, I see Faf Du Plessis play very less no of games (though he did well last year, that was UAE and this time in India and with Raina back, we won't need him as much)
This is what I would play for most games (more so if IPL is played in Mumbai/Motera):
Ruturaj/Jaggi
Uthappa
Raina
Rayudu
Dhoni
Moeen
Jadeja
Curran/Bravo
Chahar
Ngidi
Hazlewood/Tahir
If Faf needs to play, he can play at 4 (replacing Rayudu) and Moeen can be replaced by Gowtham where Gowtham slots after Curran. In flat batting conditions of Wankhede, Hazlewood plays which will mean CSK playing with 4 seamers (Curran/Bravo, Chahar, Ngidi and Hazlewood) and 2 spinners (Jadeja and Moeen/Gowtham). If we get a spinner friendly track, Tahir plays for Hazlewood and we play 3 seamers + 3 spinners.
If everything goes smoothly from here on and no player backs out or misses due to injury, CSK can really have a solid chance with all the flexibility at their disposal. A bad run of form for Raina or Rayudu can bring in Faf or Pujara as replacement. If Uthappa fails, Pujara or Rayudu can move up and open. There is also Hari Nishaanth if CSK needs a left handed opener. CSK to me, have plugged a lot of holes and have really given them many backup options to fall back on. All depends on how Dhoni and Fleming move the coins in the right way to take this team forward
View attachment 245245
Nice Jersey after long time. Really like the camouflage texture as a tribute to India's armed forces.
That bottom-left pic was probably a rough sketch. The differences from that version and the final version (shown at the top with both the front and back) is pretty significant. They removed those 5 stars on each shoulder and added 3 stars above the CSK logo (indicating their 3 IPL title wins). I also like how they've woven a golden plated line to smoothen the edges around the camouflage .
Overall a nice change to the jersey. Going forward next year, I would hope they get rid of those side blue lines and try a different style there. The Myntra logo is cooler than the Muthoot or Aircel. But those Gulf and the arm logos are so ugly. CSK make almost no changes to their jersey and this time they've tried due to an ordinary season last year but even then, their changes are not OTT and are just simple and embellishments.
CSK should hopefully play the following lineup for the next match against Punjab Kings, getting in more bowlers even if it means a batsman or two is lost:
Uthappa (^)
Moeen
Raina
Rayudu
Dhoni
Jadeja
Curran
Bravo
Chahar/Shardul
Harishankar (^)
Tahir (^)
(^) - new/incoming players
I can easily see CSK relying on Bravo and praying that he somehow miraculously finds his form and carries CSK in the death, unless Ngidi shows promise in the nets enough to replace Bravo. CSK need to punt/gamble in Harishankar before Ngidi and Behrendorff come into the picture. We cant afford many losses as the tournament will get away quickly and other teams won't allow CSK a magical return back like the good ol' days.
I think Faf has to sit out in order to accomodate Tahir in the XI since Moeen showed better batting form last game and his bowling can be useful if Dhoni needs it (Moeen almost got Prithvi yesterday).
Uthappa (^)
Moeen
Raina
Rayudu
Dhoni
Jadeja
Curran
Bravo
Chahar/Shardul
Harishankar (^)
Tahir (^)
(^) - new/incoming players
I can easily see CSK relying on Bravo and praying that he somehow miraculously finds his form and carries CSK in the death, unless Ngidi shows promise in the nets enough to replace Bravo. CSK need to punt/gamble in Harishankar before Ngidi and Behrendorff come into the picture. We cant afford many losses as the tournament will get away quickly and other teams won't allow CSK a magical return back like the good ol' days.
I think Faf has to sit out in order to accomodate Tahir in the XI since Moeen showed better batting form last game and his bowling can be useful if Dhoni needs it (Moeen almost got Prithvi yesterday).
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NILAYSHAH60
Dreamcatcher
I would back Shardul bcoz of his experience of playing at the Wankhede.
Where would CSK fit in Sam Curran? DJ looks in great form with the bat and he's rediscovering his bowling mojo. Also considering that we are going to play some games in Sharjah where mishits go for six we might do better with Bravo there. Also Hazlewood came back superbly to get the monster Pollard and probably could deserve some more chances.
Maybe keep this XI a game extra (our next one is in Sharjah vs RCB) and then take a call? I have a feeling Bravo is coming back for one last hurrah or something. He looked so intentful and might get the backing.
Maybe keep this XI a game extra (our next one is in Sharjah vs RCB) and then take a call? I have a feeling Bravo is coming back for one last hurrah or something. He looked so intentful and might get the backing.
NILAYSHAH60
Dreamcatcher
I feel it was just a one-off performance like 2018 IPL game. And there are quite a few leagues where Bravo goes for everything in one of those games and fires all cylinders but then he is just cold in other games.
Tbh I rate Sam Curran more than Bravo as a batsman while equally on the bowling part. So I would like Curran to come in place of Bravo. But as long as I know Dhoni, he is going to go with the same side and give a couple more matches to Bravo.
Chennai need to get back Suresh Raina for the playoffs for sure. I know they had a look-in with Robin Uthappa but with CSK not even remotely thinking of disturbing the gun opening combo of Ruturaj and Faf, there is no place for a Robin Uthappa in their XI at all, and Suresh Raina despite his poor form should return back to the XI. He adds a better balance to the XI where he can be floated around to disturb the opposition's bowling plans (opponents will be forced to bring on their fast bowlers when Raina comes in, esp. in middle overs where spinners need to operate).
Back him all the more now, especially when this is MOST LIKELY going to be his final season with the Chennai Super Kings. I am 200% confident that he won't be retained nor bought back (at his current form).
Back him all the more now, especially when this is MOST LIKELY going to be his final season with the Chennai Super Kings. I am 200% confident that he won't be retained nor bought back (at his current form).
Bevab
Staff Member
@SaiSrini thoughts on this playing XI?
Gaikwad
Conway
Mo
Rayudu
Jadeja
Dube
Hangargekar
Dhoni
Bravo/Milne
Chahar
Milne/Theekshana
We played almost the entirety of our previous campaign with no attacking spinner and I wouldn't be surprised to see it again this season. I do feel like it would be a mistake though as we had Hazlewood and Chahar tightening the screws in the powerplay alongside Thakur's magical knack of picking up wickets whenever needed. I don't think Dhoni is dropping Bravo unless he is injured with his price tag and reputation. I would play both Milne and Theekshana with Milne filling in the Thakur role of making things 'happen'.
Jordan is a confusing buy unless we view him as the long-term replacement for Bravo. Pretorius feels like a stop gap replacement until we buy Curran back but I can see him getting a few games here and there. Satnav is unlikely to play as always. I'm relieved that they bought Jagadeesan back as he could replace any one of Rayudu/Uthappa or Dube if they don't perform. We've also got Deshpande who is a Thakur lite in terms of being expensive with a knack for picking up wickets. He is also someone who can hit 140 kph. Solanki is supposed to be highly rated by the MI scouts, pleased that we nabbed him but it will be all for nought if he is treated like Sai Kishore. I'm unsure about the rest of the lot, might have to go and read up on them. Nishaanth is unlikely to play barring an injury crisis. Asif and Varma were with us previously, wonder if they're the new age Aparajith in terms of being permanently stuck on the bench without adequate opportunities.
Gaikwad
Conway
Mo
Rayudu
Jadeja
Dube
Hangargekar
Dhoni
Bravo/Milne
Chahar
Milne/Theekshana
We played almost the entirety of our previous campaign with no attacking spinner and I wouldn't be surprised to see it again this season. I do feel like it would be a mistake though as we had Hazlewood and Chahar tightening the screws in the powerplay alongside Thakur's magical knack of picking up wickets whenever needed. I don't think Dhoni is dropping Bravo unless he is injured with his price tag and reputation. I would play both Milne and Theekshana with Milne filling in the Thakur role of making things 'happen'.
Jordan is a confusing buy unless we view him as the long-term replacement for Bravo. Pretorius feels like a stop gap replacement until we buy Curran back but I can see him getting a few games here and there. Satnav is unlikely to play as always. I'm relieved that they bought Jagadeesan back as he could replace any one of Rayudu/Uthappa or Dube if they don't perform. We've also got Deshpande who is a Thakur lite in terms of being expensive with a knack for picking up wickets. He is also someone who can hit 140 kph. Solanki is supposed to be highly rated by the MI scouts, pleased that we nabbed him but it will be all for nought if he is treated like Sai Kishore. I'm unsure about the rest of the lot, might have to go and read up on them. Nishaanth is unlikely to play barring an injury crisis. Asif and Varma were with us previously, wonder if they're the new age Aparajith in terms of being permanently stuck on the bench without adequate opportunities.
