IPL 2024: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Team Strongest Playing 11

MS Dhoni, the ultimate Captain in charge as we look at the strongest possible playing 11 for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for IPL 2024. 

The joint-most successful team in the Indian Premier League, the Chennai Super Kings will be entering the 2024 tournament as one of the favorites to defend their title. The MS Dhoni-led team won the 2023 IPL after finishing in the bottom half of the points table in 2022. With not many changes in the squad, the CSK team seems to have only gotten better this year with the addition of a few key players.

The CSK team had retained a strong core ahead of the IPL 2024 Auction. With Ben Stokes and Ambati Rayudu gone, the CSK team needed two strong players to fill the gaps. While Daryl Mitchell fills the gap for Ben Stokes, the addition of Sameer Rizvi and Rachin Ravindra makes CSK’s batting a treat to watch. In addition, CSK got their former pace bowler Shardul Thakur in the squad. 

With such a strong squad for CSK, the playing 11 seems nothing short of lightning that is about to strike. The cherry on top is the impact player rule, which will only make things better for CSK when it comes to their playing 11. So, as we wait for the tournament to begin, let’s look at the strongest possible 11 for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for IPL 2024. Before that, let’s look at the official squad for CSK for IPL 2024. 

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Latest New Squad Players List for IPL 2024:

Batters: Ajinkya Rahane, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sameer Rizvi & Shaik Rasheed 

WKs: Avanish Aravelly, Devon Conway (f) & MS Dhoni (c)

All-rounders: Ajay Mandal, Daryl Mitchell (f), Mitchell Santner (f), Moeen Ali (f), Nishant Sindhu, Rachin Ravindra (f), Ravindra Jadeja & Shivam Dube

Bowlers: Deepak Chahar, Maheesh Theekshana (f), Matheesha Pathirana (f), Mukesh Choudhary, Mustafizur Rahman (f), Prashant Solanki, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Shardul Thakur, Simarjeet Singh & Tushar Deshpande

IPL 2024 CSK Strongest Possible Playing 11

Talking about CSK’s playing 11, the first question that we have to address is the openers. Given CSK’s strategy to give their long-time performers a longer rope, we should see Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad as the first-choice openers for them for IPL 2024. Both have been superb performers for CSK in IPL, and that should prompt CSK to continue with them for this season as well.

Coming to the middle-order, the impact player rule should prompt CSK to play with an extra batter. Hence, we should mostly see Ajinkya Rahane at the number 3 position given he made a good impact in IPL 2023 as well. With Ajinkya Rahane at 3, the other players accompanying the middle-order will mostly be Daryl Mitchell, Moeen Ali, and Shivam Dube. 

Talking about the finishers, Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni should make up for exciting finishing options. While Jadeja will play a crucial role as a finisher, MS Dhoni will mostly play a makeshift role as a finisher. Other than these two, CSK also have Sameer Rizvi, but he will mostly get an opportunity if Ajinkya Rahane or Shivam Dube doesn’t do well. 

Coming to the bowlers, CSK would be glad to see their old foy, Shardul Thakur back in the team. With Shardul Thakur in the side, CSK have a strong Indian pace attack with Deepak Chahar and Mukesh Choudhary being the other two. Given CSK’s overseas players’ restrictions, they can only afford to play one among Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana. One of these two will play depending on the pitch. 

IPL 2024 Strongest Possible Playing 11 for Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Daryl Mitchell, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c&wk), Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary & Ajinkya Rahane (Impact Player)

So, that’s about the strongest playing 11 for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for IPL 2024. Overall, CSK have a strong playing 11 on paper, and the impact players rule only makes them stronger. The current 11 has batting depth till 9 with 7 bowling options. Even if MS Dhoni plays only as a wicket-keeper and Captain, it should still be fine for CSK. 

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