IPL 2014: Players likely to be retained by Chennai Super Kings

The seventh season of the Indian Premier League is just around the corner having entered into the New Year and things are taking a new turn with the auctions that is going to take place on the 12^th of February. The teams are busy deciding on whom to retain and frankly it is a headache for the respective team managements to finalize things.

In my perspective, I believe the five players who should be retained by the prestigious Chennai Super Kings are:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni: The flamboyant wicket-keeper batsman from Jharkand is the most revered icon of Indian cricket after the retirement of the little master. Having skippered the Chennai Super Kings team to two consecutive IPL titles and a Champions League title, Dhoni would be a clear favourite with the masses of Tamil Nadu and he would be a wise choice to be retained.

Suresh Raina: One of the top run-scorers in the Indian Premier League, Raina would be a clear favourite to be retained by the Chennai based team. Raina is a regular in the Indian team and his part-bowling has always come in handy for the team. Added to that he is a tiger on the field and his reputation is renowned in this format.

Ravichandran Ashwin: The lanky off-spinner who is the local boy was not retained last time around as the management of Chennai decided to opt for an in-form Murali Vijay over him. But things are different now with Ashwin capturing the tag of ‘numero uno spinner’ after Harbhajan lost his form two years ago. Ashwin would be an integral part of Chennai as the wicket in Chepauk is known for its slowness and ability to assist spinners.

Ravindra Jadeja: The southpaw from Saurashtra has been making his presence felt steadily over the years and having achieved the number oneall-rounder in the one day rankings would surely be enough to claim a place in this prestigious line-up. Adding to that, he had a pretty successful year in 2013. Along with Raina, he can strengthen the fielding of the yellow brigade.

Dwayne Bravo: The all-rounder from Trinidad and Tobago was Dhoni’s go to man during the death overs in the previous season. Bravo seldom disappointed as he walked away with the purple cap at the end of the season. Apart from that, Bravo could hit some lusty blows if the situation demands it and he would be a perfect fit into Chennai’s scheme of things.

Other choices:

Chris Morris: Though he has not done things to set the stage on fire, he has been a quiet performer who has the potential to become one of the greatest allrounders in the shortest format.

Mohit Sharma: Having picked 20 wickets in just fifteen matches for Chennai, Mohit has debuted for the Indian team on the back of this very performance. Therefore, even if Chennai do not retain him, there are high chances of Chennai paying a heavy price to get him back on the side.

Lesser chances for: Albie Morkel, Faf du Plessis, Michael Hussey, Ben Hifenhaus, Murali Vijay.

The beauty of Chennai Super Kings team is that they can retain any five players in the list as everyone has played a vital role in CSK’s success story. I have put Michael Hussey in the less chance list owing to his age.

MS Dhoni can surprise us by asking the management to retain him ahead of Dwayne Bravo. Chennai is a well settled team and it would be interesting to see how they cope with the new team.