IPL 2021 Playing XI for Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
The team that had the worst season in IPL history in IPL 2020 seems to have recovered their mojo. CSK have managed to register one of the strongest squads on paper, thanks to Suresh Raina’s return and a competitive IPL 2021 Auction.
CSK’s willingness to back players has led them to be such a reliable side in the IPL. They didn’t return many players to the Auction pool, such as RCB or KXIP. They only let go of players who were either too expensive, such as Jadhav or Chawla, or who were underutilised. Watson would have been retained had he not retired from all forms of cricket.
When looking at CSK’s auction results, it’s clear that they got two strong players in Moeen Ali and Krishnappa Gowtham. Both complement CSK’s strengths and add considerable value. Apart from these two, Cheteshwar Pujara, all-rounder Bhagath Varma, opener CH Nishaanth, and pacer Harishankar Reddy were all purchased by CSK.
MS Dhoni’s power of having as many all-rounders in the squad as possible would provide them with plenty of choices to bring together a great playing 11 for all conditions once again. So, in this post, we’ll look at CSK’s best projected playing eleven for the IPL 2021 season. Let’s take a quick look at CSK’s IPL 2021 squad first.
CSK Predicted Squad for IPL 2021
Ambati Rayudu, Faf du Plessis, MS Dhoni (C&WK), N Jagadeesan (WK), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa (WK), Suresh Raina, Cheteshwar Pujara, CH Nishaanth, Dwayne Bravo, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Bhagat Varma, K Gowtham, Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir, Josh Hazlewood, Karn Sharma, KM Asif, Lungi Ngidi, R Sai Kishore, Shardul Thakur & Harishankar Reddy.
Key players for csk
The Chennai Super Kings have a powerful core of 7-8 players, making them one of the few teams in the league. These are the players that CSK will almost certainly include in their starting XI, and tactics and combinations will be developed around them.
In terms of bowlers, Shardul Thakur was a standout for Team India in the limited-overs format last year. In IPL 2020, he was also very strong as compared to the under-performing Deepak Chahar. Although both should be in the starting XI, Shardul may be preferred over Chahar if only one player is available.
Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (C&WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, and Shardul Thakur make up CSK’s heart.
We would almost definitely have Faf du Plessis and Suresh Raina in the top-order, based on the squad. MS Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu will almost certainly bat in the middle order. Though Ravindra Jadeja is a lock to start, young Sam Curran’s success in IPL 2021 should give him an advantage over Dwayne Bravo.
CSK’s Best Projected Playing XI
When it comes to CSK’s strongest projected playing XI for the IPL 2021 season, we must consider the best available players who can add a lot of value to the core seven players. CSK’s squad has so many talented players that it will be impossible to fit everybody. As a consequence, when choosing the best 11, past success and team mix take precedence.
Though Faf du Plessis is set to open, CSK must choose between Ruturaj Gaikwad and Robin Uthappa to bat second. Ruturaj has done well for Chennai Super Kings in the few chances he has had in IPL 2020. Uthappa, on the other hand, had a back-and-forth score. As a result, Ruturaj should play ahead of Uthapa as the second opener.
The third foreign player will be a coin flip. Over the years, Dwayne Bravo has been the backbone of CSK, but his recent success hasn’t been especially impressive. Moeen Ali, who was acquired for 7 crores, could be a good aggressive middle-order choice. Furthermore, CSK needed an offspinner, and Ali is an excellent choice.
In comparison to IPL 2020, Imran Tahir, the fourth overseas player, should see more game time in IPL 2021. Although he adds a lot of value, if the pitch is more conducive to pace, Bravo, Lungi Ngidi, or Hazlewood can replace him. At the very least, Tahir should be given a chance in the playing XI to help improve the overall bowling attack.