 "IPL 2024, CSK vs RCB: Under new leadership, defending champions Chennai eye strong start")
If the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) wasn’t big enough as a moment, with a high-stakes clash between cross-city rivals Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru no less, another factor has been thrown into the mix. IPL 2024 will usher in a new dawn for the defending champions CSK with MS Dhoni handing over the captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad .
Once again, MS Dhoni is expected to play his last season in the yellow and the process to hand over the reigns has begun with Gaikwad the latest incumbent . The aim, seemingly, is to try and ensure a smooth transition for the five-time champions.
Away from the massive task of leading CSK for Gaikwad, at Chepauk no less, CSK and RCB will have to find some early answers to some deep questions as they attempt to enter a rarefied territory.
Read | CSK SWOT analysis: Strengths and weakness
Chennai Super Kings are vying for a sixth title will put them ahead of Mumbai Indians. On the other hand, the Royal Challengers, who recently won their maiden Women's Premier League (WPL) title , will be eager to add a first IPL title to their shelf.
However, they have their own challenges to deal with.
CSK have been the torch-bearers of success under Dhoni, whose IPL career has reached its final chapter. His cricket acumen may still be best in the world, but the passing summers have slowed him down as batter and behind the stumps.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsWith that in mind, the younger names will have to step up. The CSK have placed faith in new recruit Rachin Ravindra in the absence of Devon Conway, who will miss the initial portion of the season due to a thumb injury .
The CSK have further Kiwi flavour in Daryl Mitchell, a hard-hitting middle-order batter and a handy seamer.
In batting, they can also bank on the experience of Ajinkya Rahane and the exuberance of opener Gaikwad, who is entering the IPL after top-scoring for Maharashtra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
However, it will be interesting to see how he manages the task of leading the team and continuing to score runs while dealing with lofty expectations from fans.
However, Gaikwad has a winning formula at his disposal, laid out so successfully over the years by Dhoni. It’s the presence of a decisive match-winning all-rounders and spinners who can use the home conditions and surface to the hilt.
The likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Moeen Ali, Maheesh Theekshana can make even the best dance to their tunes.
CSK also have two wily domestic campaigners in pacers Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur.
However, Sri Lanka’s slinger Matheesha Pathirana will miss initial matches after failing to recover from a hamstring injury he suffered during the recent T20I series against Bangladesh.
Read | RCB SWOT analysis: Strengths and weakness
But those little hiccups do not make RCB’s task any easier. To understand it better, RCB have not beaten CSK at Chepauk since 2008.
Captain Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli, who is returning to competitive cricket after a two-month break, will once again shoulder the batting responsibility.
They are set to open together, but this time the addition of Cameron Green might act as a protection plan if one of them or both of them fail to get going. Green can also chip in as a bowler.
Then there is Glenn Maxwell, whose high-return outings in last year’s World Cup might not have been forgotten.
They have a mix of extreme pace and skills in the fast bowling unit through Mohammed Siraj, Lockie Ferguson, Alzarri Joseph, Akash Deep and Reece Topley, but none of them are particularly good in death over situations.
The RCB spin attack, though, wears a thin look in the absence of leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, who was released ahead of the auction.
They will have to hope for Maxwell to deliver the goods with his off-spin but others like Karn Sharma, Himanshu Sharma and Mayank Dagar are either short of match practice or untested.
Squads:
CSK: Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Mandal, Mukesh Choudhary, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Mitchell Santner, Simarjeet Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana, Rachin Ravindra, Shardul Thakur, Daryl Mitchell, Sameer Rizvi, Mustafizur Rahman and Avanish Rao Aravelly.
RCB: Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh and Saurav Chauhan.
Match starts: 8.00 PM.
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