Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has picked Chennai Super Kings’ captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the franchise’s biggest strength heading into the upcoming Indian Premier League 2024. Dhoni has led CSK to five titles in the lucrative tournament, the joint-most by any captain along with Rohit Sharma.
Chennai defeated Gujarat Titans in the previous season’s final in a humdinger contest as Ravindra Jadeja scored 10 runs off the last two balls against Mohit Sharma.
Meanwhile, Dhoni was able to add the finishing touches in IPL 2023 for CSK. The talisman scored 104 runs in 12 innings at a staggering strike rate of 182.45. The CSK captain smashed a total of 10 sixes in the previous season.
“The name of their biggest strength is MS Dhoni because this captain knows how to manage the team. He is the Don of cricket and his name is MS Dhoni. He has the Midas touch. Whatever he touches, turns into gold. He provides freedom to people,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
Chopra hailed Dhoni for getting the best out of Shivam Dube and Ajinkya Rahane, who both played an instrumental role in taking the team to glory in the previous season.
“You suddenly saw the best of Dube, the best of Rahane – there are plenty of examples of players who have flourished under him. MS Dhoni is a very strong factor for me because a captain has a huge role in T20 cricket and you won’t get a bigger captain than him easily,” Chopra stated.
While Dube scored 418 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate of 158.33, Rahane amassed 323 runs in 11 innings at an outstanding strike rate of 172.48.
The renowned commentator added that Chennai also has a potent batting unit. CSK will miss the services of Devon Conway due to injury but still, they have some world-class batters in their line-up.
“The second strength I see in this team is that the batting order is solid. Ruturaj Gaikwad consistently scores runs at the top. If Devon Conway is not there, it could be Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra or Ajinkya Rahane,” he said.
“You will see two of these three players playing, among whom Rahane will be confirmed and the other could be either Rachin or Daryl Mitchell. If they don’t wish to play Moeen Ali, both can also play,” Chopra added.
Reigning champions Chennai Super Kings will host Royal Challengers Bangalore in Indian Premier League 2024 opener at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on March 22.
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