Defending champions Chennai Super Kings would look to hit the ground running and successfully retain their title when IPL 2022 kicks off on March 26. CSK were by far the best team in the knockouts last season, winning Qualifier 1 to make it to the final where they beat a resilient Kolkata Knight Riders' side by 27 runs. Despite having to let go of some key players like Faf Du Plessis, Shardul Thakur and Josh Hazlewood, CSK have put together a strong outfit for this season as MS Dhoni aims to have his franchise win a fifth title. Suresh Raina in IPL 2022! Former CSK Cricketer To Be Seen as a Commentator in Showpiece Event Starting March 26

CSK had made their intentions pretty clear by making some strong retentions before the auction. However, losing players of Du Plessis and Thakur's caliber would hurt but the title holders have roped in replacements. Ruturaj Gaikwad, the leader run-getter from last season would once again hold the cards at the top of the order and his performance would go a long way in dictating where CSK end up in IPL 2022. Devon Conway is most likely to partner Gaikwad at the top with some formidable middle-order options in Moeen Ali, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni himself.

Handy all-rounders in the form of Shivam Dube and India's 2022 U19 World Cup winner Rajvardhan Hangargekar are great additions while the weight of their fast bowling department would be on the shoulders of Adam Milne and Chris Jordan, especially with Deepak Chahar being ruled out for a good part of the competition with injury. MS Dhoni Plays Powerful Pull-Shot at CSK Training Session Ahead of IPL 2022 (Watch Video)

CSK's Schedule for IPL 2022:

Date Match Time (IST) Venue
March 26 Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders 7:30 pm Wankhede Stadium
March 31 Lucknow Super Giants vs Chennai Super Kings 7:30 pm  Brabourne Stadium
April 3 Chennai Super Kings vs Punjab Kings 7:30 pm Brabourne Stadium
April 9 Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad 3:30 pm DY Patil Stadium
April 12 Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore 7:30 pm DY Patil Stadium
April 17 Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings  7:30 pm MCA Stadium
April 21  Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings  7:30 pm DY Patil Stadium
April 25 Punjab Kings vs Chennai Super Kings 7:30 pm Wankhede Stadium
May 1 Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Chennai Super Kings 7:30 pm MCA Stadium
May 4 Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings 7:30 pm MCA Stadium
May 8 Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Capitals 7:30 pm DY Patil Stadium
May 12 Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians 7:30 pm Wankhede Stadium
May 15 Chennai Super Kings vs Gujarat Titans 3:30 pm Wankhede Stadium
May 20 Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings 7:30 pm Brabourne Stadium

Chennai Super Kings' squad for IPL 2022: MS Dhoni (c), Moeen Ali, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, Ambati Rayudu, Dwayne Bravo, Robin Uthappa, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Maheesh Theekshana, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Simarjeet Singh, Devon Conway, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Subhranshu Senapati, Mukesh Choudhary, Prashant Solanki, C Hari Nishaanth, N Jagadeesan, Chris Jordan, K Bhagath Varma.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 22, 2022 12:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).