Click it and Unblock the Notifications
1. Parting ways with ageing stars
The CSK have a lot of deadwood in their line-up. The stars like Shane Watson, Dwayne Bravo, Suresh Raina, who withdrew from IPL 2020 citing personal reasons, Harbhajan Singh, who also did not play in the IPL 2020, Kedar Jadhav, Karn Sharma etc have played key roles in CSK's impressive run over the years but they have past their prime.
The Chennai team needs some fresh legs and need to look beyond their policy of preferring experience alone, and should mix experience with youth. The mega auction ahead of IPL 2021 should be held some time in December or January/February 2021, and freeing these stars will also allow CSK to have few extra crores in their wallet.
2. Should Dhoni continue as captain?
MS Dhoni has remained Chennai captain for 11 seasons from 2008, save for those two years when the team was banned from the IPL. He is the ‘Thala' for all Chennai Super Kings captain and has results to show too - three IPL and one Champions League title and the CSK have reached the IPL play-offs without fail. But now that proud run is almost certain to be snapped and Dhoni, who once performed some incredible feats as captain, looks powerless to stop the slide. As a batsman too, he has past his destructive best, and now no longer the Jharkhand man can pull those big hits out of shelf at his whim.
It seems that CSK need a fresh mind at the helm, an active cricketer. They can look forward to someone like Kane Williamson for captaincy role for the next few seasons. Perhaps, Dhoni, who owns a brilliant cricket mind, can withdraw to the board room and assemble the talent and help the new captain lead the Super Kings into a new era.
3. Should Stephen Fleming be replaced?
Like Dhoni, the former New Zealand captain too has served the CSK as coach for long years. He took over coaching the CSK right after his playing days for New Zealand and the IPL outfit. Since then Fleming, an unassuming man, has struck chord with Dhoni and the alliance has only flourished. Dhoni too had said how the "mutual respect" between him and Fleming has allowed CSK to function smoothly over the years.
But it is becoming increasingly clear that the Super Kings need some fresh perspective and coaching philosophy. They need to rope in someone else as coach next season, and can use Fleming's experience now more in a mentor role. Team building and strategizing could be left to someone else, possibly someone like Tom Moody or Ricky Ponting.
4. Young stars CSK should buy from auction
Shubman Gill, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad, Ishan Porel, Krunal Pandya, T Natarajan etc could be their possible targets in the mega auction.
