Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the defending champions will have their task cut out in IPL 204 edition as winning consecutive IPL tournaments is never easy irrespective of how strong the team is. CSK’s skipper MS Dhoni was the first one to retain the trophy which CSK did in 2010 & 2011 edition and then Rohit Sharma’s brigade MI did it in 2019 & 2020 editions. All eyes will be on MS Dhoni who still is looking athletic and all set to dictate the terms.
The peculiarity of CSK is that they give a long rope to the players and don’t chop & change due to which there is healthy atmosphere in the dressing room. It will be interesting to see how Daryl Mitchell fares under the leadership of MS Dhoni as the Kiwi batter can decimate the opposition on the given day.
MS Dhoni just seems to be this diesel engine that never ends- AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers was seen speaking on his You Tube channel. AB de Villiers said that CSK played some incredible cricket in IPL 2023 edition. AB de Villiers compared MS Dhoni with the diesel engine which never ends. AB de Villiers pointed out that CSK becomes a dangerous side when they are under no pressure and AB stated that CSK can win back to back titles and have that ability.
“They played some incredible cricket last year. There were a lot of rumors about MS Dhoni finishing up last year, that was not the case, ladies and gentlemen. He would be back again. Will this be his final season? No one knows. He just seems to be this diesel engine that never ends. He keeps running. What an incredible player, what an incredible captain,”
“I believe it’s through their presence, it’s through the leadership of MSD, a calm coach in Stephen Fleming, senior players in Ravi[ndra] Jadeja and others who have really set this incredible culture alive. They are a very intimidating team to play against. They are never easy to beat,”
“That is always a great characteristic of a very successful unit, of a very successful franchise. When you are playing well, it’s, ‘Yes, no problem, no one’s gonna stop us’ but when you are not playing so well – they always find a way to compete. They won last year. Yes, they want to defend their title but there’s almost no pressure on MSD and his troops and I think that makes them dangerous. Can they go back-to-back? They certainly have the ability,” he said.
CSK’s never to say die attitude
The 5 time IPL winner will be well aware of the fact that they can’t go overboard and complacent as IPL is such a massive tournament that any side can upset a champion team and steal the show. MS Dhoni would be slightly worried as Devon Conway is injured and unavailable for the first half of the season as he has got similar traits like Mike Hussey and Conway knows how to play a long & effective innings.
It won’t be wrong to say that Moeen Ali will be the ‘X’ factor for CSK as he is someone who has got wide range of shots and can be lethal on the given day. Moeen along with Ajinkya Rahane will have to do the bulk of scoring against spinners in the middle overs and who knows, we might witness Ravindra Jadeja batting up the order to up the ante as the side has got a lot of powerful hitters in the camp.