Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are without the star all-rounder Ben Stokes who has taken a break from IPL 2024 edition ahead of T20 WC 2024 and England cricket team’s home summer. England’s fierce all-rounder & skipper Ben Stokes wasn’t at his best in the previous edition due to his knee injury.
CSK though have a kind of like for like replacement in the form of Shardul Thakur which might be a huge comparison but Shardul can be used as a pinch hitter and promoted up the order. Shardul Thakur is often called ‘Lord Shardul Thakur’ as he is someone who breaks crucial partnerships and is an inseparable part of the team.
Ben Stokes loved playing under MS Dhoni- Eoin Morgan
Eoin Morgan was seen having interaction with Jio Cinema. Eoin Morgan stated that MS Dhoni leaves an inedible mark on every player. Eoin Morgan made a huge statement that England’s flamboyant all-rounder Ben Stokes absolutely liked playing under the leadership of iconic skipper MS Dhoni.
“They absolutely love it, to be honest. They talk about the same characteristics. When you’re talking about being led brilliantly, you always say, ‘Will the team follow him?’ When it’s MS Dhoni, you never question that,” said Eoin Morgan.
“He leaves an indelible mark on every player. He instils the belief that they have the ability to go out and play with the pride that’s associated with CSK, and lets them know that everybody is backing them,” he stated.
“Ben Stokes, who has an incredible amount of self-belief, loved playing under MS Dhoni. He did it at Pune for a couple of years and obviously shared the dressing room with him last year. They absolutely love wearing that yellow shirt,” he added.
Invincible CSK
CSK will be well aware of the fact that defending the title won’t be easy this time; because all the teams are quite competitive and evenly matched. Devon Conway’s absence (*for the first half of the tournament) will hurt the team as he is someone who knows how to construct the innings and play a long & effective knock. In his absence, there are high chances that Ajinkya Rahane will open the batting along with Ruturaj Gaikwad.
All eyes will be on Shivam Dube who can be the surprise package for opposition teams as he has got brute power and is quite fearless & intrepid. The peculiarity of CSK is that they don’t get panic even after losing a string of matches as skipper MS Dhoni & management give a long rope to the players which brings the best out of them.