MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings will play their first match of the season on 31st March against Gujarat Titans at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. It is also the opening encounter of IPL 2023 and meanwhile, the former Indian batter, now a renowned commentator Aakash Chopra has done an analysis for Chennai Super Kings and predicted their journey in the upcoming tournament.
Aakash Chopra has marked Chennai Super Kings as a decent team on paper and feels that if the team performs according to their stature then they will make it into the playoffs.
While talking about his show ‘Aakashvani’ on Jio Cinema, Aakash said, “They are looking like a very decent team on paper. Where can this team reach? They should reach the playoffs if they play to their potential. Dhoni is the captain, there is an emotional connection, it is the last season, and the matches are going to be played in Chennai, which is their fortress.”
Talking further Aakash Chorpa picked New Zealand batter Devon Conway as the highest run-getter and Deepak Chahar as the highest wicket-taker for the men in yellow.
“Who can be this team’s highest run-scorer? One of Ruturaj Gaikwad or Devon Conway – I am going with Devon Conway although we don’t know how much the Chennai pitch will suit him. Who can be the highest wicket-taker? I am going with Deepak Chahar.”
In IPL 2022, Conway played seven matches and scored 252 runs, with an average of 42.00 and an impressive strike rate of 145.67. On the other hand, Deepak Chahar had to miss the whole season due to a back injury.
Aakash Chopra also highlighted the number of all-rounders CSK has and said that the all-round department has always been the backbone of Chennai Super Kings since the inception of the tournament.
“If we talk about all-rounders – Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, and Ben Stokes in bold letters, and then two or three more Indian names.”
