Watson excited at thought of playing under 'great' MSD

Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson on Monday expressed his excitement over association with Chennai Super Kings for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League and said he was looking forward to play under skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The yellow brigade bought the the 36-year-old for INR 4 Crores in the auctions which were held earlier in January.

New Delhi: Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson on Monday expressed his excitement over association with Chennai Super Kings for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League and said he was looking forward to play under skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The yellow brigade bought the the 36-year-old for INR 4 Crores in the auctions which were held earlier in January.

“It is going to be a real honour to play for such a great franchise with the history that the Chennai Super Kings have, and the thought of playing under the great Mahendra Singh Dhoni excites me a lot,” Watson told CSK official website.

The all-rounder has been part of the Indian Premier League since the inaugural edition. Watson who represented Rajasthan Royals between 2008 and 2015 and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the last two seasons said it will be a little strange initially as CSK was one of Rajasthan's big rivals. "It is going to be a little strange initially as CSK were one of Rajasthan's big rivals which started way back in the first year of the IPL. But it won’t take that long to subside."

Watto, as he is fondly known in cricket circles was on fire in the recently concluded Big Bash League. He was the top scorer for his franchise Sydney Thunder with 331 runs.

Apart from retaining MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina, the franchise has also roped in veteran Harbhajan Singh, all-rounder Dwayne Bravo Faf du Plisis along with bunch of young talent. When asked about the team composition Watson seemed excited and termed the side as formidable.

"Any CSK squad with Dhoni, (Suresh) Raina and (Ravindra) Jadeja as a starting point is going to be incredibly good and is always going to compare really well to the previous years," the Queensland-born cricketer said.

The 36-year-old, retired from international cricket in March 2016 and has played 102 games in the IPL so far, scoring 2622 runs at a strike rate of 138.65 and claimed 86 wickets at 21.63.