It has been over a decade since the Indian Premier League came into existence. The IPL was a path breaking reform which changed the dimensions of the Gentleman’s game. Cricket was just not confined to the die-hard fans but extended its reach and appeal to audience with different intrests in life. Much like the nature of the T20 format, the event witnessed continuous evolution had seen the franchisees reaching lofty highs and plummeting to lows. Amid all the changes, one thing which remains constant all through the 11 seasons of the IPL is the sheer dominance of Chennai Super Kings. In a format where consistency is something which teams strive hard for, CSK has defied all odds and silenced critics by winning an unprecedented three Indian Premier League titles.
The Yellow Army has been most dominant team in the IPL racking up three titles under the brilliant leadership and sharp cricketing acumen of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. CSK has surely found of a sure shot recipe to its success. Behind the scenes, they have a brilliant strategist in Stephen Fleming who has been instrumental in devising match winning strategies with Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Out of the 9 IPL seasons CSK have participated, they have made it to the finals a staggering seven times, a record which speaks volumes about their superlative consistency. It comes as no surpise that CSK are the runaway leaders with the most playoff apperances and have the best winning percentage among all the franchises to have played more than 20 games.
While many teams chip and chop their playing eleven, CSK has always believed in playing with a set combination and instilling a strong sense of belief in their players. The CSK think tank knows which is their best combination and sticks to them in thick and thin. With every mega auction, they have been intelligent enough in picking their core pool of players who have served them for a relatively longer spell and paid them rich dividends.
CSK have been fortunate to have some belligerent openers to provide them with the initial fireworks up the order, right from season one. The likes of Michael Hussey, Matthew Hayden, Murali Vijay, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith and Ambati Rayadu have played some absolute binders up the order. CSK have had some unsung heroes in the form of Faf Du Plessis, Subramanium Badrinath and Dwyane Bravo who have been the work horses in their middle order. Talk of destructive firepower down the order, CSK had a plethora of clinical finishers in the form of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Albie Morkel, Shane Watson and Dwayne Bravo who have changed the course of the game with whirldwind cameos down the order.
CSK have always harped on having the ideal balance in their side by fielding in quality all-rounders who could chip in valuably with both bat and ball. There are examples a plenty with Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina and Albie Morkel.
CSK have always relied heavily on spinners to control the game in the middle overs. Right from Muttiah Muralitharan to Ravichandran Ashwin to Ravindra Jadeja to Imran Tahir, the tweakers have been the lethal arsenal in the CSK bowling armoury, casting a web around the opposition.
CSK had enough firepower in their pace battery all through the eleven IPL seasons to wreck through the defences of the best of batting lineups. Dougie Bollinger, Ashish Nehra, Ben Hilfenhaus, Manpreet Gony, Lakshmipathy Balaji and Mohit Sharma all bent their backs to make regular strikes and give a big hurray to the ‘Whistle Poddu’ fans at the Chepauk.
It has never been a walk in the park for CSK as they have been constantly challenged to the hilt by IPL guns like Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders for the coveted title.
The dark clouds of match fixing loomed large over CSK in 2015 and they were banned from the IPL for two seasons. While many had written them off completely, most forgot that they still had some seasoned match winners who possessed the pedigree to compete with the best in the league. CSK once again defied all odds in their comeback season in 2018 and made a resounding comeback to win their third league title.
With the 2019 IPL season just a few days away from getting underway , CSK would again go down as one of the major title contender given the balance, combination and experience in their squad. It will be interesting to watch if captain cool and calm MS Dhoni can guide them to a record breaking fourth IPL title in what could be his swansong season.