Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will have a point to prove in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 which is expected to take place in India in March-April. The MS Dhoni-led side suffered their worst campaign last season where they failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time. The three-time champions were inconsistent in both batting and bowling departments and as a result, they were outplayed in several games. However, they have finalized their squads for the upcoming season in the IPL 2021 players' auction, and it will be interesting to see if the Yellow Army goes back to winning ways or not. IPL 2021 Auction, Purse of Each Team: Here’s How Much Money Franchises Can Spend on During Indian Premier League Bidding.
Following their disastrous run in IPL 2020, CSK released big names like Kedar Jadhav, Murali Vijay, Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla while Aussie all-rounder Shane Watson was automatically out following his retirement last year. However, the return of Suresh Raina will indeed boost up the side’s morale. The southpaw, who announced retirement from international cricket last year, pulled out of IPL 2020 citing personal reasons. Nevertheless, the dasher was retained ahead of auctions this year and expectations would be high from him. IPL Most Expensive Players: From MS Dhoni to Ben Stokes, Full List of Record Buys in Each Indian Premier League Season.
Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad were some positives from CSK’s dismal show last season, and they’ll be expected to replicate their heroics. Skipper MS Dhoni will also have to step up to change Chennai’s fortunes this season. The talismanic wicket-keeper batsman couldn’t do much in the previous season, scoring 200 runs in 14 games. Meanwhile, let’s look at CSK’s final squad ahead of the gala T20 tournament.
CSK Full Squad 2021
CSK Players Bought At IPL 2021 Auction
Moeen Ali, Krishnappa Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, K.Bhagath Varma, C Hari Nishaanth, M. Harisankar Reddy
CSK Players Retained Ahead of IPL 2021 Auction
Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Ambati Rayudu, N Jagadeesan, Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Mitchell Santner, Josh Hazlewood, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur, KM Asif, R Sai Kishore, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, Lungi Ngidi.
CSK previous Season Recap
As mentioned above, IPL 2020 witnessed CSK getting knocked out of playoff race for the first time. With just six victories in 14 games, CSK finished the group stage at the seventh position. Nevertheless, the Yellow Army have won the IPL title thrice and would be raring for redemption in the upcoming season.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 18, 2021 03:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).