Roaring Chennai Super Kings are back and are sending the right signals ahead of the latest IPl season.
Considered as the most consistent squad in the IPl history, Chennai, the only team to reach the play-offs in every year they participated, unsurprisingly have yet again relied on their old guards to take them back to the promise land.
The yellow army not only tried to retain their players, but also did their best to keep the same staff, which helped them finish runners-up in 2015.
The coaching staff will be headed by Stephen Fleming, while former Australian batsman and CSK opener Michael Hussey will be the batting coach. Another former bowler lakshmipathy Balaji will be the bowling coach. Trainer Gregory King and physio Tommy Simsek will also remain from the old set up. Fleming, who was the coach till CSK was suspended, coached Rising Pune Supergiant in the 2016 and 2017 seasons and is now back to Chennai.
Spin-heavy squad
like the previous sides, the Yellow Submarine has relied heavily on spinners once again. The earlier spin unit was led by seasoned-bowler Ravichandran Ashwin. He was ably supported by Ravindra Jadeja and occasionally Suresh Raina will bowl couple of overs.
Before that the side was relying on legendary former Sri lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. Now, few personalities have changed, but the focus remains the same.
Ashwin was not retained in the auction as he went on to join Kings XI Punjab and he was subsequently named as their captain.
However, Jadeja was retained even before the auctions and he will be supported by former Indian player Harbhajan Singh, South Africa' Imran Tahir and New Zealand's Mitchell Santner. But Santner got injured while playing for New Zealand and has been ruled out of IPl.
Tahir has been leading the spin department for South Africa for some time now and the team management will be happy to have his services.
Harbhajan will be key. He will directly replace Ashwin in the line-up and his knowledge on the Indian conditions will be a bonus for the Tamil Nadu capital side.
He has also been a vital cog for Mumbai Indians in recent seasons. In 136 matches, he has 127 wickets to his name with a decent economy of 6.96 and his best being 5/18.
Considering how much Chennai pitch will help spin bowling, it wasn't a surprise seeing the side show a lot of interest for spinners. However, how many of them will feature in the playing eleven regularly will be interesting to see.
Harbhajan and Jadeja, being Indian players will be automatic choices. Both their ability to bat will also give the side a deeper batting unit.
So among Tahir and Santner, Dhoni has to choose the third spinner. Or, the team might go against the idea of having a third spinner and might use the foreign player slot to field an additional pacer or a batsman.
All-round strength
Another major positive for CSK this season is the presence of numerous world class all-rounders in their squad.
They retained Jadeja, who can be handy with the ball as well as bat, from their old set of players.
Add to it, the team has signed two renowned all-rounders - Shane Watson and Dwayne Bravo - to their squad. Bravo has already been an important part of the Chennai Super Kings squad in the past.
So it wouldn't be a problem for him to get into the mix, however it will be interesting to see how Watson performs.
Having retired from international cricket, the former Australian player is not playing the sport regularly. Whether he still has that old magic left in himIJ Only when the season starts, the answer for that question will be known. He still plays for Sydney Thunder in the Australian Big Bash league. So that will come handy.
Bravo has been a major part of CSK's recent domination. He is known for his lethal slow balls during the death overs. His ability to clear the ropes easily will help the team during the fag end of the match.
He has 122 wickets and has scored 1238 runs in his entire IPl career.
Harbhajan is another player in the squad who can bowl and can also produce some lusty blows off his bat. On numerous times, Mumbai Indians have promoted him higher up the order and he has rewarded his captain's faith with quick-fire innings. Chennai can use that strategy too when required.
Besides, Kedar Jadhav is also a handy player for the team. He is another player in the Chennai squad, who is good with the bat as well as the ball Jadhav and Singh can play regularly without having to worry about the four oversees players' spots.
Possessing all-rounders has been part of the Chennai team of past. The previous side of the Tamil Nadu capital also had multiple all-rounders.
Apart from Jadeja and Bravo, they also had Irfan Pathan and Ashwin is another player, who is also equally capable with the bat and ball.
They both have been replaced ably and this once again allows Chennai to bat pretty deep.
Weakness
On paper, CSK seems to be having a complete squad. However, when one takes a closer look at things, they will be able to find their weakness in the pace front.
South Africa's bowling sensation lungi Ngidi and England's Mark Wood lead the pace attack. Despite their recent success for their international sides, both players will be playing in their maiden IPl this season.
Among the Indian speedsters, Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar are the ones to look out for. But their lack of experience at the top level might be a telling factor for MS Dhoni-led side.
Bravo and Watson can fill that void to an extent, but they are not known for their lightning quick deliveries to threaten the opponents with the new ball.
Besides, it will also be interesting to see how Dhoni accommodates them all in the starting line-up.
Among the four overseas quota, Bravo seems to be a fixed one, whereas the other one would probably go for anyone of Faf du Plessis or Watson.
So Dhoni could use the remaining two places for a pacer and a spinner.
In their last squad (2015) before suspension, Chennai, however, did have depth in this department. They had Australia's John Hastings, New Zealand's Matt Henry and South African Kyle Abbott among the recognised overseas pacers.
As far as the Indians are concerned, they had Ashish Nehra, Mohit Sharma and Irfan Pathan.
Nehra has retired from all forms of cricket, while Mohit will represent Kings XI Punjab this season.
Possessing many players in the squad over the age of 30 could be another problem during the grueling IPl season.
With most of their key players - Bravo (34), Dhoni (36), Harbhajan (37), du Plessis (33), Murali Vijay (33) and Shane Watson (36) - in their mid thirties, many wonder whether their best years are behind them. The oldest player in the squad is Tahir at 38 years. He is also another player who the squad will be heavily relying given his spin bowling prowess.
During the first eight seasons, CSK were known for their athleticism in the field and was regarded by many as one of the best fielding units.
Can this aged CSK-side keep that tag goingIJ Only time will tell.
One thing is guaranteed, like the previous Chennai sides, Dhoni yet again has a team capable of challenging for the title.