IPL 2020: 3 ways CSK could line up next season

With the conclusion of the IPL auction on 19 December, the eight teams involved in the world's grandest T20 tournament have all finalized their squads for the upcoming campaign.

While the consensus is that Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders possess the strongest squads in the competition at the moment, one can never discount three-time champions Chennai Super Kings. On paper the squad may look ageing and out of form, but a few savvy buys at the auction, coupled with their existing stars, could see CSK be a force to reckon with once again.

So without further ado, let us have a look at a few ways - some predictable and some completely out of left field - in which Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side could line up:

1. Batting deep

Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, DJ Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Piyush Chawla, Deepak Chahar, Lungi Ngidi

The first potential line-up we have in mind for the men from down south is the one they are most likely to use. This has a fairly settled look about it, with only one of their auction picks, leggie Piyush Chawla, coming into the side.

Shane Watson will be an important part of this team, which will look to bat opponents out of the contest.

The openers, Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis, have batted together often for CSK. They are followed by seasoned campaigners in Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu, while Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav below them are capable of both building an innings and finishing things off if need be.

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The all-rounders, Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja, are both explosive hitters, and Chawla and Deepak Chahar can put a few runs on the board.

All in all, this team gives CSK decent batting till number 10, as well as a genuine fast bowler in Lungi Ngidi, a new ball bowler in Chahar and a death bowler in Bravo. There are also three different spinning options, with the leg-spin of Chawla and the left-arm off-spin of Jadeja supported by the traditional off-spin of Jadhav, who can roll his arm over if needed.

2. Spinning a web

Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Piyush Chawla, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir

The main difference between this team and the previous one lies in its bowling. The batting remains largely the same, with the only major differences being Harbhajan Singh and Mitchell Santner coming in for Deepak Chahar and Dwayne Bravo, which may weaken it slightly, but there is a reason for that.

This line-up will look to suffocate opposition, and Tahir could be crucial

On the surface, this may seem like a very unbalanced team, but the entire point of it is to stifle opposition batsmen using 20 overs of spin. Given Dhoni's propensity for entrusting spinners with crucial moments in games this remains a remote possibility, but it may be going too far even for him.

The merits of this line-up are that there are two spinners, in Santner and Harbhajan, who are fairly comfortable bowling with the new ball, as well as the fact that there is variety in the attack. With 2 left-arm spinners, 2 leggies and 2 off-spinners (counting Jadhav), Dhoni would have a plethora of options to turn to at any given point of time depending on the opposition batsmen, field dimensions and so on.

It may be unlikely, but it is an interesting proposition.

3. Giving youth a chance

Narayan Jagadeesan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, MS Dhoni, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, R Sai Kishore, Lungi Ngidi

Ever since CSK's return to the IPL in 2018, the Men in Yellow have been dubbed the 'Dad's Army' because of the high average age of their squad. Nearly all their players are aged 30 or above, but there is a possibility of them fielding a younger team to build for the future.

Do not expect to see them field this team this season unless they qualify for the playoffs extremely early.

Deepak Chahar will have a large role to play in an XI that emphasises youth

In this line-up, the batting is led by youngsters N Jagadeesan and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Jagadeesan's understanding of Chennai conditions would make him a superb fit for the side, and he would complement Gaikwad's attacking style with some elegant strokeplay.

The middle-order is sufficiently experienced to handle any sort of situation, as Du Plessis drops down to number 4 and along with Raina and Dhoni, would form a very dependable spine.

Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja and Mitchell Santner provide firepower at the back end of the innings, with Chahar also backing them up.

The bowling line-up consists of 3 pacers and 3 spinners, again giving Dhoni several options. However, as all 3 spinners (Jadeja, Santner and Sai Kishore) bowl left-arm orthodox, this team may be better suited to playing against a line-up with a majority of right-handers.