Chennai Super Kings

The Chennai Super Kings won the previous edition of the IPL, clinching the cup in a nerve racking final. They went on, thereafter, to win the champions league in South Africa. This season of the IPL, that required fresh bidding for the players, saw the Chennai Super Kings retain most of their core team.

Owners of the Chennai Super Kings: India Cements

Colour of the Chennai Super Kings: Bright yellow

Logo of the Chennai Super Kings: The face of a roaring lion

The players who constitute the Chennai Super Kings include:

M.S.Dhoni, R.Ashwin, Shadab Jakati, V Y Mahesh, Joginder Sharma, Doug Bollinger, Nuwan Kulasekara, Vijayakumar, Tim Southee, Salil Yadav, S Badrinath, George Bailley, Michael Hussey, Murali Vijay, Abhinav Mukund, Anirudha Srikanth, K Vasudevadas, G Vignesh, Dwayne Bravo, Suresh Raina, Albie Morkel, Scott Styris, Suraj Randiv, Faf Du Plessis, Wriddhiman Saha

Selecting M.S. Dhoni as the captain of the Chennai Super Kings has greatly worked in favour of the CSK as he brings with him intelligence and in depth planning. The captain began his cricket career as a quick hitting batsman and was renowned for his flamboyant shots and his long hair. The honour of captaincy has mellowed the cricketer, who plays maturely now and very often delivers a good captains knock that steers his team to victory. M.S. Dhoni is also a successful wicketkeeper, which allows him to stay close to the action at all times. The calm captain of the Chennai Super Kings, who is also the captain of the Indian cricket team, brings with him a sincere approach to the game and does not exhibit his emotions publicly.

Michael Hussey is one of the key strengths of the Chennai Super Kings. Hussey scores runs quickly and, therefore, aids immensely in adding scores on to the board. He began his international cricket career only in his late twenties but has soon risen to be a very successful batsman. Starting out as a right hand batsman he soon changed his style to being a left hand batsman. He averages 43.82 runs in the twenty 20 format and is a great opening batsman for the Chennai Super Kings.

Murli Vijay is the other opening batsman and he has been successful in ensuring a good start along with Michael Hussey. He was very successful in the third edition of the Indian premier league and was the top scorer in the champions' league. This right handed batsman has been instrumental in many victories for the Chennai Super Kings.

Dwayne Bravo, an important West Indian all rounder, was part of the Mumbai Indian team earlier but has now joined the Chennai Super Kings this season. He is a right handed batsman and a right arm medium fast bowler. His ability to score plenty of runs and still clinch a large number of wickets has forged him into a force to reckon with.

Doug Bollinger is a successful Australian bowler who has been very successful in the twenty 20 format. He is a left arm fast medium bowler with a best bowling performance of 4 wickets for 13 runs. From being termed as an erratic bowler during his early cricketing days, Bollinger has grown to being an essential part of the team aiding his team into victories.

Suresh Raina is a left handed batsman with a strike rate of 142.41 in the twenty 20. He is also an excellent fielder who can hit the stumps directly from the infield. He has been instrumental in preventing excessive runs on the field and also for dismissing batsmen by running them out. His sharp and quick responses have helped him immensely during batting as well as on the field. This left handed batsman has been with the Chennai Super Kings from the first season.

Another left hand batsman who is great with the ball is Albie Morkel. This South African all rounder bowls right arm medium fast, a successful cricketer both with the bat as well as with the bowl. He is a hard hitter and is famous for the many sixes he hits during crunch situations. Albie Morkel has also been with the Chennai Super Kings right from the first session.

The winners of the last season of IPL look strong and ready to battle against all odds to clinch the trophy again. Chennai Super Kings have an extremely competent team with Mr cool as the captain, M.S.Dhoni. This team comes across as a breezy team that is passionate and fully charged but not distracted by emotions and gimmickry on the field.

The Chennai Super Kings have with them many successful and talented players. During the start of an IPL season, they have been found to falter but have soon been able to get their act together and finish among the top few teams, if not right at the top!