IPL 2023: With Ben Stokes, CSK is now the all-rounder’s army
Ahead of the 2018 IPL season and upon their return from a two-year suspension following the match fixing saga, the Chennai Super Kings were branded as ‘dad’s army’. With a squad average age of 34, even captain cool MS Dhoni had shared his reservations.
“The age group of the boys was definitely a concern, you had to keep them fit. We had to take care of the resources and to make sure that when we come to the business end of the tournament, the best XI is available for selection,” Dhoni would say ahead of the final. Yep, the oldest squad of all managed to go all the way in a format perceived fit for the youngest.
It wasn’t a one off. In 2021, the CSK squad had 13 players with an age of 30 or more. Despite that, a fourth title was won. The ‘dad’s army’ wasn’t one to be trifled with. But in a way they were in need for a revamp: A new line of players to be burdened with pressure; a new formula to win games.
Going into the 16th edition of the league, it seems like CSK have pulled out a page from the playbook of Mumbai Indians, their closest rivals in terms of silverware success. Like the Rohit Sharma-led side did during their previous two auction cycles, CSK are reliant upon all-rounders. A power trinity of their own as Mumbai had in Kieron Pollard and the Pandya brothers. Bringing in Ben Stokes to accompany Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali, who were pivotal to their success in 2021.
While Jadeja’s contributions to the franchise need not be mentioned, Ali has also been pivotal to the side and cooked instant impact performances in his first season in 2021. The duo accounted for a total of 584 runs and 19 wickets in CSK’s previous title triumph.
Idhu namma all’u!#AllRoundersUnion 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/KZwFPZU4Kc
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) March 28, 2023
With Ali consolidating quick runs at number three and Jadeja taking over the fabled finishing duties lower down the batting order, Stokes being sandwiched in adds some much-needed firepower.
In him, CSK will have an additional bowling option, something MS Dhoni as captain has always prioritised. (Even though the CSK batting coach Mike Hussey did confirm that the England Test captain will begin the season solely as a special batter owing to a knee injury management.)
Shivam Dube saw a second coming for his IPL career with 289 runs at a strike rate of 156.22 and is more than handy with the ball. Then there’s Deepak Chahar, who apart from being CSK’s prime swing merchant, has shown his value with the bat as well. Rajvardhan Hangargekar can amp up the heartbeats of the speed gun but can also tonk the ball afar as he did in India’s U19 World Cup win last year.
CSK were already equipped with multi-taskers. The addition of Stokes just adds more quality in that lineup.
The 2023 season will see the implementation of the Impact Player rule in IPL. Cricket’s version of substitution in football. Something that negates the role of all-rounders as suggested Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting earlier this season.
“You don’t need to pick all-rounders now because you can name a batting or a bowling-heavy team and just take one out and bring the other in. Unless they’re absolutely world-class and they’re getting picked either as a batsman or as a bowler, and not as a bits-and-pieces player then I don’t see many teams this year use the guy that might bat at seven and bowl an over or two,” Ponting said.
But then again, CSK have been at their best while refraining from what’s a generally accepted rule.
IPL 2023: CSK Full Squad
MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Subhranshu Senapati, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Choudhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Simarjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana, Ajinkya Rahane, Ben Stokes, Shaik Rasheed, Nishant Sindhu, Kyle Jamieson, Ajay Mandal, Bhagath Varma, Sisanda Magala
