Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have been in the news a lot lately, with 13 members including 2 players testing positive for Coronavirus. That along with the withdrawals of 2 senior members, Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh has left the CSK fans worrying about their team’s chances for the coming season.

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If history is anything to go by, there’s not much CSK fans need to be worried about. CSK have been the most consistent team in the history of the IPL. They have qualified for the playoffs in all the ten seasons they have been part of, making it to the finals for a staggering eight times and going to win the trophy on three occasions.

CSK missed out being crowned champions by the slightest of margins last year when they were defeated by Mumbai Indians by 1 run.

The team lead by captain cool MS Dhoni will always be one of the favourites given the incredible balance the squad has.

Shane Watson has been brilliant opening the batting and we could see one of Ambati Rayudu or Ruturaj Gaikwad open the innings with him. The middle-order offers balance to the team with the likes Kedar Jadhav, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja all contributing with the bat and ball. In Faf Du Plessis, CSK have an experienced campaigner who will lead the batting order.

Leader MS Dhoni can slot in at any position according to the match situation but it will be interesting to see how he performs as his last match was in 2019 World Cup Semi-final.

The pace bowling attack will have plenty of options with the likes of Josh Hazlewood, Sam Curran, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur all having experience of performing at the biggest stage.

The UAE conditions are likely to be in favour of the spinners and CSK have plenty of quality in that department. The likes of R. Jadeja, Imran Tahir, Mitchell Santner and experienced veteran Piyush Chawla hold the key if CSK is to make a push for the title this season.

In the past few years, CSK has been questioned for having an ageing squad but they proved everyone wrong by winning the trophy in 2018 after a 2-year absence from the tournament.

With all the odds staggered against them before the tournament starts, if there is any team that can prove everyone wrong it is CSK.

My prediction: 6th