IPL 2018 auction: Rating the squads

Chennai Super Kings - 7/10

Openers: Shane Watson, M Vijay

Middle-order batsmen: Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Sam Billings, Dhruv Shorey

Wicketkeepers: MS Dhoni, J Narayan

Allrounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Monu Kumar Singh, Kshitiz Sharma

Spinners: Harbhajan Singh, Karn Sharma, Imran Tahir, Mitchell Santner

Pacers: Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Kanishk Seth, Mark Wood, Lungi Ngidi

The IPL giants went into the auction with the aim of buying back most of their former players and, more or less, they did succeed in it. CSK is a good mix of a lot of experienced, and a few young players, with a more than able captain to lead them.

However, whether the experienced bunch will be able to replicate their goods of the past is another question. While most of the batsmen, all-rounders and spinners have consistently played at the highest of levels, their pace battery is fairly young and inexperienced.

Apart from Murali Vijay and Shane Watson, and perhaps Faf du Plessis, they don't have many opening options as well. However, because they will be playing majority of their matches in Chennai, they have assembled a formidable spin attack.