With the Indian Premier League (IPL) set to get underway on Friday, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) players are done with their "final revision" and are ready to roar in the 14th edition of the league.
"Final revision done right. The lions are all set to go live! #WhistlePodu #Yellove," CSK tweeted along with the pictures of players sweating it out in the nets.
The opening game of IPL season 14 will be played between Royals Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and defending champions Mumbai Indians in Chennai on Friday. CSK will begin their campaign on Saturday against Delhi Capitals.
Despite witnessing a dismal run in the last season, CSK will still enter the 2021 edition of the IPL as one of the favourites, given the franchise's track record on Indian soil. Not to forget the experience the side has at its disposal.
The team will step into the new season with several changes as Shane Watson retired from all forms of cricket following last year's IPL while CSK opted not to retain Harbhajan Singh. Despite the absence of these two, CSK still has surfeit experience in the squad. Also, the Dhoni-led team will see the return of Suresh Raina, who had missed the last edition of the tournament. Raina's return will bolster the team's batting line-up.
In the mini-auction, held in February, CSK went all out for all-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham. The franchise bought the player for a whopping Rs 9.25 crore, making him the most expensive uncapped Indian player at the mini-auction. Also, in the absence of Harbhajan Singh, CSK had to add an experienced spinner to the team, and the team ironed that problem out with the addition of Moeen Ali.
The team also has Sam Curran and Shardul Thakur and both of them will be brimming with confidence as they were at their best in last month's ODI series between India and England. Hence, the duo will look to continue with their recent form, heading into the IPL.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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