IPL Chennai Super Kings | #WhistlePodu

[Till Valhalla]

Dube
Hangargekar

Most probably won't play given past XIs

 

[Bevab]

Most probably won't play given past XIs

I don't think we've got other alternatives to Hangargekar though unlike in the past. Solanki perhaps if he impresses given our need for an attacking spinner. As for Dube it is extremely likely that he plays given our love for all-rounders who can do a bit of this and that alongside us clearly targeting that type of middle-order player for some time in the auction. I hope Fleming can teach the boy to use his feet more, he's got such technical issues with his footwork.

 

[Till Valhalla]

I don't think we've got other alternatives to Hangargekar though unlike in the past. Solanki perhaps if he impresses given our need for an attacking spinner. As for Dube it is extremely likely that he plays given our love for all-rounders who can do a bit of this and that alongside us clearly targeting that type of middle-order player for some time in the auction. I hope Fleming can teach the boy to use his feet more, he's got such technical issues with his footwork.

I would really like to see them play. But CSK has always done some outside thinking with their line up and then stick to it.

 

[SaiSrini]

@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.

Nice one @Bevab !

I guess Milne will play more, since he's seen as the Hazlewood replacement. I hope CSK can play Rajvardhan, because last time they picked this guy Hari Shankar Reddy who also had good pace but never played him and now they haven't picked him back. I hope Rajvardhan with his added batting utility should hopefully get a lot more respect from Dhoni and the management. I know I posted an initial ideal XI in the main discussion thread, but now that I've had more time to think about it and also considering some opinions that I agree with, below is my draft V2.0 of a XI that CSK could field for all conditions

Ruturaj
Conway/Uthappa
Moeen
Dube
Rayudu
Jadeja
Dhoni
Bravo/Jordan
Rajvardhan
Deepak
Milne/Pretorius/Theekshana

With this XI, CSK will bat right until No. 11 (more so if they play Milne or Pretorius). That will mean that CSK will continue with this new found approach of attacking right through the middle overs and end up with pretty big totals or chasing challenging totals. In case CSK want some extra OS bowling in their arsenal, they can open with Ruturaj-Uthappa and play 2 of Milne/Pretorius/Theekshana. There is so much of flexibility with the squad that CSK has selected, that it is very reassuring and I won't be surprised if CSK continues playing as well as they did in 2021.

Overall, I would rate CSK's auction a 7.5/10. Heard Sundar Raman talk to Cricbuzz during Lunch on Day 2 today and he said "this is like a test match. You play the waiting game at the start, and then try to score all the runs when the bowlers get tired" That's what CSK did. They scored a lot today and some of them were pretty surprising.

 

[SaiSrini]

I especially felt really happy that CSK went after the likes of Devald Brewis, Tilak Verma, Shahrukh Khan, Romario Shepherd, etc. Imagine the scenes in CSK Twitter/social media if we had gotten Shahrukh Khan. They clearly showed loads of intent this time, that was definitely missing in their earlier auctions (and mind you, despite not showing this kind of intent, CSK ended up with 2 titles and 1 final in the previous cycle).

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Ah! I love this team, because it gets bashed by us.

Dhoni won't always save you.

 

[Ashutosh.]

Dhoni won't always save you.

Do you mean Dhoni does everything in CSK and the other 10 players do nothing?

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Do you mean Dhoni does everything in CSK and the other 10 players do nothing?

No but he makes up for the errors by minimizing the damage done. He generally plays safe which I think is very much outdated brand of Cricket. But his leadership last season was refreshing to see. Atm Rohit is the best Captain in the country. I think if Dhoni belonged to this era he would've somehow adjusted with the pace of this game. I think winning the title masks many issues that still exists in the side. I continue to believe everytime he won't be able to save these guys.

 

[Ashutosh.]

I continue to believe everytime he won't be able to save these guys.

Ruturaj
Conway
Uthappa
Moeen
Rayudu
Jadeja
Dube
Bravo
Rajvardhan
Chahar
Theeksana/Milne

Not a weak team. They can win without Dhoni as well.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Ruturaj
Conway
Uthappa
Moeen
Rayudu
Jadeja
Dube
Bravo
Rajvardhan
Chahar
Theeksana/Milne

Not a weak team. They can win without Dhoni as well.

Uthappa
Moeen
Rayudu
Bravo

Uncles XI

 

[AliB]

Ruturaj
Conway
Uthappa
Moeen
Rayudu
Jadeja
Dube
Bravo
Rajvardhan
Chahar
Theeksana/Milne

Not a weak team. They can win without Dhoni as well.

Goodness gracious! Let them with Dhoni first..

 

[Ashutosh.]

Uthappa
Moeen
Rayudu
Bravo

Uncles XI

But Dhoni is only 20 years old. So he should be in the playing 11 instead of these uncles.

 

[SaiSrini]

Ah! I love this team, because it gets bashed by us.

Dhoni won't always save you.

You're assuming that Dhoni won't be part of CSK, even after he retires? The man is a VP of India Cements (prime owner of CSK) and possibly owns stocks in the company. A usually un-emotional guy, he actually cried when CSK came back in 2018. Dhoni will stay with the franchise until his body tells him "not to". Same thing with Fleming too. He said last year that it is going to be incredibly exciting to be part of the transition phase and to be able to create a new squad for the next 10 years. Pretty much tells you that Fleming wants to stay as long as possible with CSK.

If these two stay with the team in any capacity for the next 10 years, CSK fans have nothing to worry! This squad will be driven by Dhoni and Fleming (and possibly Mike Hussey if he is upgraded to chief coach position while Fleming takes up directorship or something) even into the future. Whoever the new captain comes in, will easily play under Dhoni. I know someone will now say "Dhoni was mentor for India in T20WC but we saw what happened". Well that's an international side and there were so many cooks together (Shastri-Dhoni-Kohli). CSK is a franchise side and the power on Dhoni-Fleming's hands will be more focused until they find a new captain who is as inspirational and can mould the team around their personality. Also CSK is owned by India Cements, and they know quite a thing or two about running cricket teams (they have been running cricket teams successfully for almost 40 years now). Along with the Dhoni aura, its the team culture/environment that equally contributes. These guys dont give up easily on players and pick literally the same squad over and over again, to make the players feel secure.

P.s: I am not getting into this banter business (I'm too old fashioned for it). Maybe some other younger CSK fans can possibly indulge you in this

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

You're assuming that Dhoni won't be part of CSK, even after he retires? The man is a VP of India Cements (prime owner of CSK) and possibly owns stocks in the company. A usually un-emotional guy, he actually cried when CSK came back in 2018. Dhoni will stay with the franchise until his body tells him "not to". Same thing with Fleming too. He said last year that it is going to be incredibly exciting to be part of the transition phase and to be able to create a new squad for the next 10 years. Pretty much tells you that Fleming wants to stay as long as possible with CSK.

If these two stay with the team in any capacity for the next 10 years, CSK fans have nothing to worry! This squad will be driven by Dhoni and Fleming (and possibly Mike Hussey if he is upgraded to chief coach position while Fleming takes up directorship or something) even into the future. Whoever the new captain comes in, will easily play under Dhoni. I know someone will now say "Dhoni was mentor for India in T20WC but we saw what happened". Well that's an international side and there were so many cooks together (Shastri-Dhoni-Kohli). CSK is a franchise side and the power on Dhoni-Fleming's hands will be more focused until they find a new captain who is as inspirational and can mould the team around their personality. Also CSK is owned by India Cements, and they know quite a thing or two about running cricket teams (they have been running cricket teams successfully for almost 40 years now). Along with the Dhoni aura, its the team culture/environment that equally contributes. These guys dont give up easily on players and pick literally the same squad over and over again, to make the players feel secure.

OMG! Well, looking at your post I better refrain from banter myself.

The entire post of mine was a part of banter.

Also I would not want to comment more on Dhoni because there are few members wanting to prove me a Thala tard.

There is a reason why MS is my favourite Captain. And your post sums up everything.

 

[harishankar]

Looks like Theekshana might not get a match if these “fans” have their way:

Boycott Chennai Super Kings trending at top on Twitter; what is the controversy?

Many people are sharing photos of Maheesh Theekshana saying CSK should flush him out from the team as it is owned by Tamils.

newsroompost.com