The Chennai Super Kings did not do well in the last season of the Indian Premier League. Is all set for IPL 2023. They got some big names in the cricket world on their team. In fact, they spent INR 16.25 crores on Ben Stokes. He is one of the best all-rounders in cricket. He is the third most expensive player in IPL 2023.
There is sad news for CSK fans. This can be the last IPL for beloved MS Dhoni. And, the CSK team wants their 5th IPL title now. So, with last year’s performance, they need to put all in.
Below is the SWOT analysis of the men in yellow after the IPL auction.
Strengths
The team’s batting lineup looks strong and all set for IPL 2023. With the star player of the T20 World Cup, Ben Stokes, the Chennai Super Kings will aim for high scores in all the matches in the league. They already have some exceptional players like Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, and MS Dhoni of course. And Stokes has the ability to bat at any position and justify it with his batting skills.
The CSK even thinking about putting him open for them. Rituraj Gaikwad is already the final as an opening batsman. With MS Dhoni, there is another player who will be playing one down. He is the one and only Ajinkya Rhane.
Weaknesses
Though, the Chennai Super Kings have tremendous batsmen. Still, the bowling side seems unsatisfactory. The thing is if the pitch requires the swing and turn magic in IPL 2023. The team has spin bowlers like Mitchell Santner, Maheesh Theekshana, and Ravindra Jadeja. They can put the opposite teams on tough play on grounds favoring spinners.
But, what about the pitch where pace and bounce are the keys? What those bowlers will do when only fast pace techniques will require? And, CSK lacks experience in this niche.
They have Prashant Solanki as a fast bowler, who does not have the experience to bowl against players like Glenn Maxwell, Samuel Curran, and many more like them.
Another fast bowler they have is Kyle Jamieson. But he too doesn’t have much experience. Also, CSK does not have Dwayne Bravo and Josh Hazelwood with them anymore. Therefore they will find difficulties in this area.
Opportunity
This time the Chennai Super Kings have few star players from U19 teams. The two new youngsters for IPL 2023 in the CSK are Nishant Sidhu and Shaik Rasheed. Both of those players have good batting records in U19 cricket. Rajvardhan Hangargekar is another impressive U19 Indian all-rounder. He was already with the team. But did not get a chance in IPL 2022 to play any match. However, this year he can be of great use. As Dwayne Bravo is not on the team.
There is a U19 Srilankan player on the team too. He got a chance last year in the IPL. Though it was not a big one, he still gave a good performance.
Therefore, those young players of CSK could be a boon for the team in IPL 2023.
Threat
You must have seen the last season of the IPL. When Deepak Chahar got an injury. As a result of which, he did not play the matches later. Ultimately, Chennai Super Kings were in a bad position due to this incident.
Though, they have Simranjeet Singh and Mukesh Chaudhary as bowlers. Still, they do not meet the skills of Chahar. Likewise, in IPL 2023, CSK does not have good backups for epic players like Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, etc.
So, if any of the players get injured, Chennai Super Kings do not have a good player to replace them. And, all-rounders are more prone to injury.
Final Team
Above is the SWOT analysis of the team so far. Let’s have a look at the final team after the auction.
The captain of CSK is MS Dhoni. The rest of the players are Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Devon Conwoy, Ambati Rayudu, Subhranshu Senapati, Shivam Dube, Mitchell Santner, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Dwaine Pretorious, Ravindra Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande, Matheesha Pathirana, Mukesh Chowdhary, Deepak Chahar, Simranjeet Singh, Maheesh Theekshana, Prashant Solanki, Shaik Rasheed, Nishant Sindhu, Ben Stokes, Bhagath Verma, Ajay Mandal, Ajinkya Rahane, and Kyle Jamieson.
So above are the whole members of the team in the yellow jersey.
Overall the team has quite impressive batting. But, there are few doubts about the fast pace bowlers. However, young players have a very high chance to perform well. But the backups might be an issue. Just hope none of the players gets injured.
But one thing we are sure of. It will be a great season for the IPL 2023. And, I know you can not wait. We will be watching soon. Till then, have fun. Be safe.
