3 Indian CSK players who'd been a great fit at Texas Super Kings

Texas Super Kings (TSK), the sister franchise of five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK), kickstarted the inaugural season of Major League Cricket (MLC) with a 69-run win over Los Angeles Knight Riders.

The Faf du Plessis-led outfit posted 181/6 in their 20 overs after being asked to bat first at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas before their bowlers took charge to roll the Knight Riders over for a paltry 112. David Miller walked away with the Player of the Match honors for a sublime 42-ball 61-run knock.

The Super Kings have one of the better-rounded squads for MLC 2023 and their opening victory was a further testament to that notion. With CSK boasting a rich legacy in the IPL, it's no surprise that a number of their players - either former or present - are also with the Texas outfit.

There is no Indian participation in MLC 2023 but you can't help but wonder how the Super Kings would have shaped up had they been allowed to sign their Indian stars from CSK.

With this in mind, let's look at three CSK players who would have been the perfect fit for Texas Super Kings in a hypothetical situation.

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#1 Ruturaj Gaikwad

Ever since making his bow in the IPL, Ruturaj Gaikwad has established himself as a mainstay in the CSK batting lineup, playing a pivotal role in their title triumphs in 2021 and 2023. He has been on and around the radar of the Indian selectors as well, having also earned a Test call-up for the ongoing tour of the Caribbean.

It's not as though Texas Super Kings are short of top-order options but you cannot deny that Gaikwad would fit in like a hand in a glove. Having formed a successful partnership with both du Plessis and Devon Conway at CSK, he could have resumed the same with either of them had he joined the Texas franchise in a utopian world.

Time will tell if du Plessis and Conway can combine to replicate similar heroics in MLC 2023. But in a parallel world, Gaikwad's presence in the side would have helped the Super Kings recreate one of two very successful partnerships in the IPL.

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#2 Shivam Dube

Shivam Dube enjoyed a breakthrough season for CSK in IPL 2023 as the side's designated spin-hitter. He compiled 418 runs at an average of 38.00 and a strike rate of 158.33 with a staggering 35 sixes headlining a stellar season for the southpaw.

Texas Super Kings possess a plethora of left-handed batters, but Dube would slot into their XI seamlessly as a spin-hitter. The biggest advantage it would have given them was the ability to hold Miller back rather than sending him inside in the powerplay as they did in their tournament opener against LA Knight Riders.

In a hypothetical scenario, there's no doubt that Dube would have made a very good fit for the Texas side to take down the many quality spinners in the opposition.

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#3 MS Dhoni

Now this might come as a surprise given that he's 42 and nobody knows if he's got another IPL season left him in or not. But if MS Dhoni's power-hitting in IPL 2023 was anything to go by, the veteran surely has a lot of gas left in the tank.

A takeaway from Texas Super Kings' MLC 2023 opener was Devon Conway taking the wicketkeeper's gloves. Given how agile a fielder he happens to be, Dhoni's presence in a utopian world would have freed him of the same while also bringing one of the finest stumpers in the game into action behind the wickets.

He can comfortably target pace at the death, adding value as a finisher on that front. And is there anything about his leadership quality that hasn't been said already?

His presence would have also ticked off another massive box for both the Super Kings and the tournament on the whole - the brand value. It's hard to find too many bigger brands in the sport than Dhoni, even as he's well into international retirement.

There's also no doubt that had he played the tournament, he would have wowed the crowd in America just as well as he has anywhere else around the globe.

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Which of these Indian players from CSK do you think would fit into Texas Super Kings perfectly? Have your say in the comments section below!

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