After a two-year hiatus, CSK will return to the IPL and take on the defending champions, Mumbai Indians in the first match of the season.
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The two-year ban imposed on CSK was quite unfortunate for the league as a whole, as it robbed us of one of the most iconic teams in IPL history.
No team was more consistent than CSK in the first eight years of the league, as the Chennai side reached the final on six occasions and lifted the title in 2010 and 2011.
Then there was the MS Dhoni effect, as India’s most successful skipper was also the face of the CSK franchise. Somehow it did not feel right to see MSD in the Pune jersey over the last two years, as deep down we all knew that he belonged to CSK.
According to reports, Dhoni himself admitted that his heart was not in the Pune franchise over the last two years, and did not even think twice when CSK asked him to return to their fold.
CSK retained Dhoni, Raina and Jadeja ahead of the auction, as they brought back the old guard back. Many people were critical of CSK’s activity in the auction, as the franchise brought in a lot of high quality players who were past their prime.
The likes of Shane Watson, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Bravo and Harbhajan Singh have been fantastic over the years, but question marks remain over their efficiency over the next couple of seasons.
They also brought in Imran Tahir, as the South African leggie will certainly be looking to play his part in this year’s edition.
Tahir was superb for RPSG, as his guile and class were too much for the batsmen, and proved all those wrong who felt that he cannot cut it in the shortest format of the game.
Ahead of the IPL season, Tahir sent a wonderful tweet to CSK fans, as he posed with his new Tamil teacher.
This will surely go a long in getting him into the good books of all CSK fans!
