IPL 2019: Chennai Super Kings' strongest possible playing XI

Coming back after serving the two-year suspension, filling the teams with players who are in the wrong side of the 30s, being trolled as old age home and still managing to beat all odds and win the IPL, not everyone will have a fairytale comeback as Chennai Super Kings had in 2018.

But, the most important thing now is to consolidate on their success and defending their crown. Chennai Super Kings started off their title defence ahead of the 2019 IPL in the only way they know as they retained the core that was there for IPL 2019 and released just three players going into the IPL auction.

In the just-concluded IPL auction, Chennai needed just two Indian players and they filled the two spots by buying pacer Mohit Sharma for 5 crores and Rituraj Gaikwad for 20 lakhs.

With their squad set, let us take a look at how Chennai Super Kings could line-up in the 2019 IPL.

Squad: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, M Vijay, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Billings, Mitchell Santner, David Willey, Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Karn Sharma, Dhruv Shorey, N Jagadeesan, Shardul Thakur, Monu Kumar, Chaitanya Bishnoi.

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Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu

Last season while everyone thought Murali Vijay will the batting for the Yellow Brigade, skipper MS Dhoni surprised everyone by making Ambati Rayudu, a batsman who has done well in the middle-order for Mumbai Indians, India, Hyderabad and all other teams he has played for, open the innings and this move proved to be a masterstroke as Rayudu ended the tournament as the leading run-getter for the team as he scored 602 runs in 16 matches at an average of 43 last season. In all likelihood, Rayudu will open the batting for them in the upcoming season.

Shane Watson

Shane Watson

Shane Watson had a memorable debut season with Chennai Super Kings as he scored 555 runs in 15 innings at an average of nearly 40. Who can forget his match-winning century against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final of 2018 IPL? Being a retired international, Watson will be available for the whole tournament and that could give him the nod over Faf du Plessis to open the batting with Rayudu.

Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina

In the 11 seasons he has played so far, Suresh Raina, fondly known as Chinna Thala, has crossed the 350-run mark in a season on nine occasions and with 4985 runs in 176 matches at an average of 34.3, Suresh Raina has rightly got the tag Mr. IPL.

Ever since the start of the IPL, Raina has been the backbone of the Chennai Super Kings batting line-up and has won several matches for them single-handedly. Raina is not a part of the Indian ODI team now and is unlikely to make it to the national side for the World Cup. So, his availability for the whole tournament won't be an issue for MS Dhoni's men and he will continue to bat at number three for the defending champions.

MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni

Following Suresh Raina in the batting order will be skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Though Dhoni does not bat at number 5 or below for India in ODIs, he has vowed to bat up the order for Chennai in the last IPL and the way he played was enough proof that the legendary wicketkeeper-batsman still has it in him to succeed at the top level. Last season, he scored 455 runs in 16 matches at an average of nearly 76 and a strike-rate of over 150. After tasting a lot of success there, Dhoni is likely to bat at number 4 for Chennai yet again.

Kedar Jadhav

Kedar Jadhav

In the last IPL auction, Chennai Super Kings spent a lot of money on Kedar Jadhav and unfortunately, all he could manage to play was one match as he suffered a hamstring injury in the very first match of the season and was ruled out of action for the next three-four months. But, in the only match he played, Kedar, batting on just one leg, ensured that Chennai got their campaign off to a great start by helping them win their first match of the season against Mumbai Indians by scoring 10 runs off the last over. He is expected to bat at number five, his position in the Indian ODI side, for Chennai in 2019.

Dwayne Bravo

Dwayne Bravo

Dwayne Bravo has been a proven match-winner for Chennai Super Kings ever since he joined them as he has single-handedly won a lot of matches for them with both bat and ball. Bravo is Chennai's designated death bowler with the ball and with the bat, he has always scored some crucial runs with the bat down the order. Being a retired international, Bravo will be available for the whole tournament.

Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja is just the perfect player every captain wants in his team in the T20 format as he is one of the rarest cricketers who can be termed as a complete package in T20 i.e, a player who can score runs with the bat, give the skipper four overs with the ball and adding to these, be an athletic fielder. Jadeja is one of the players Dhoni trusts which is evident from the decision to retain him and play him last season in spite of poor form. Jadeja, batting at number seven gives Chennai a lot of stability in the batting order.

Mitchell Santner

Mitchell Santner

Chennai should consider themselves unlucky not to have Mitchell Santner last season as the Kiwi all-rounder injured himself before the tournament and was ruled out of action for the next few months. Santner is a utility cricketer as he quietly goes about his job whenever he takes the field. This season he will be available for the whole season as New Zealand Cricket has allowed their players to play the whole IPL in spite of the World Cup starting a few days after the completion of the tournament. Having someone like Santner at number eight shows the batting depth Chennai possess in their line-up.

Deepak Chahar

Deepak Chahar

In the 2018 IPL, one of the main reasons for Chennai's victory is the performance of their fast bowler Deepak Chahar with the new ball and knowing his strengths, skipper MS Dhoni always finished off his quota of overs inside the eighth over when the ball is still new. Thanks to his brilliant performances, Chahar made it to the national team and went on to play a solitary T20I for India. This season, he will be expected to replicate his success from last year and if he manages to do so, chances of Chennai Super Kings retaining their title will be more. He can also be a handy batsman coming in at number nine.

Mohit Sharma

Mohit Sharma

Chennai Super Kings went into the 2019 IPL auction to sign one of Mohit Sharma or Jaydev Unadkat and eventually succeeded in getting their target as they signed their former pacer Mohit Sharma for 5 crores. With this, he is likely to get the nod over Shardul Thakur in the playing XI as Mohit is someone who has done well for them in the past and at the same time, he is a better death bowler compared to Shardul. This also gives Chennai Super Kings a chance to rotate their fast bowlers throughout the season.

Lungi Ngidi

Lungi Ngidi

South African pacer Lungi Ngidi is the pace spearhead for Chennai Super Kings ever since he joined them in the 2019 season and the team management will be expecting the same from him this season as well. But, he is currently injured and will be racing against time to make it to the IPL and even if he is fit in time for the IPL, he won't be available for the whole tournament as South Arica have already given their players the deadline to join them before the World Cup. If he fails to recover in time for the World Cup, Chennai will be tempted to have David Willey as the fourth overseas player and like Ngidi, he is capable of bowling with the new ball.