After losing by a single run margin in the last finals, the team will be looking to fire on all cylinders to win their 4th cup.
Strength
The core trio of MS Dhoni, Jadeja, Bravo will be playing a vital role in the CSK campaign. Also, CSK’s major strength is their captain MSD. Though he leads the team in a calm and composed manner, his explosive finishing skills speak opposite of him. The bowling lineup is also excellent and has wide options to choose from.
Weakness
The pitches in UAE tend to get slow as the tournament progresses. The lack of a consistent batsman or a consistent batting lineup will haunt them. The absence of their main No.3 will be a huge drawback. Even if Raina returns during mid-season, damage could have been done.
Trump card – Dwayne Bravo
The key West Indian all rounder Dwayne Bravo has the capability of changing the course of match by himself, be it with bat or ball.
Last season performance-
Position – Runner-up
Most runs – Ms Dhoni
Most wickets – Imran Tahir
Team –
Batsmen – Faf du Plessis, Murali Vijay, Kedar Jadhav,Ambati Rayudu,Ruturaj Gaikwad
Wicket keepers – MS Dhoni (C), Narayan Jagadeeshan.
Allrounders – Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner,Shane Watson,Dwayne Bravo,Sam Curran
Bowlers – Lungi Ngidi, KM Asif, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir,, Deepak Chahar, Monu Kumar, Karn Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Josh Hazlewood.
Coach – Stephan Fleming