IPL 2022 - A Complete Breakdown Of Chennai Super Kings' Squad

'If it ain't broken, don't fix it' is an interesting saying which perfectly fits in the case of four-time IPL champions - Chennai Super Kings(CSK). The MS Dhoni-led side constructed a similar sort of team in the IPL Mega Auction that helped them win the 2021 season. 

In the first part of the Auction - the retention part - CSK spent 42 crores out of 90 on four players - Ravindra Jadeja(16cr), MS Dhoni(12cr), Moeen Ali(8cr), and Ruturaj Gaikwad(6cr) - and entered the mega auction with the balance of 48 crores to get the rest of the squad. 

At the end of the Auction, CSK was left with 2.95 crores in the purse despite getting all 25 players. A total of 71.85 crores were spent on getting 13 out of 25 players, who were part of Chennai in the 2021 season, back. 

CSK got 15 capped players for a total of 82.75 crores while the rest of the uncapped players came at the cost of 4.3 crores. However, out of 87.05 crores, only 22 crores were spent in getting eight overseas picks. 

Chennai's most expensive player(excluding retention) in the IPL Auction was Deepak Chahar on whom they spent 14 crores; the next expensive buy was Ambati Rayudu - 6.75 crores. The most expensive overseas buy for CSK was Dwayne Bravo - 4.4 crores. 

CSK's Tried & Tested Strategy 

CSK management tried to make sure they continued with the same template. Despite trying their best to get Faf du Plessis back, the South African went over budget, so they turned to plan B - the backups. 

CSK got Devon Conway in the opener's role - left-hander who plays spin well, a perfect complimentary of Gaikwad. Chennai had already set Moeen Ali's position at number three so they got back Ambati Rayudu at number four, who hits pace well. 

With the top four sorted, CSK bid for a left-handed floater who can roll his arm to bowl 2-3 decent overs when needed - Shivam Dube. Chennai is backing Ravindra Jadeja to do the finishing role, with MS Dhoni's powers decreasing. 

Deepak Chahar adds batting depth in CSK's lineup along with Dwayne Bravo. But primarily, Chahar and Bravo bring in variety to their bowling. One is a powerplay specialist and the other a death-over specialist. 

Another interesting pick for Chennai was getting Rajvardhan Hangargekar - the U19 star. He is a hit the deck fast bowler, who can bowl both hard lengths and yorkers convincingly. What makes Hangargekar a likely starter is his ability to swing the bat. 

CSK had a terrific time playing Josh Hazlewood in the last season - another hit the deck bowler. Since Chennai couldn't get Hazlewood back in the auction, they instead got Adam Milne, who has similar characteristics but with added pace. 

Robin Uthappa will be used as a backup or if CSK wants to play another overseas player in place of Conway. Uthappa is a dynamic batter and a terrific hitter of spin. 

With Imran Tahir aging, Chennai gambled on Sri Lanka's new mystery spinner - Maheesh Theekshana, who is likely to get a few games in favorable conditions. 

CSK also sorted out Dwayne Bravo's backups in the form of Dwaine Pretorious and Chris Jordan. The South African allrounder can be used as a floater and bowl decently while the Englishman is a terrific death overs bowler who can smack the ball hard when required. 

Chennai Super Kings is a team built on a safely tried and tested strategy that has given them success over the years. However, with their core aging, it will be interesting how they manage to pull off the next three years with this squad. 

Also Read: IPL 2022 Auction Overview List Of All Players & Teams

CSK Squad for IPL 2022 - Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, R Hangargekar, Dwayne Bravo, Adam Milne, Robin Uthappa, KM Asif, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana, Simarjeet Singh, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Subranshu Senapati, Mukesh Chowdhary, Prashant Solanki, C Hari Nishaanth, Narayan Jagadeeshan, Chris Jordan, Bhagat Varma