Chennai
Super Kings (CSK) are second most successful team in Indian Premier League
(IPL) history, having maintained a ridiculous 100% playoff
qualification record over the 10 seasons they have featured in.

They have
played the final on eight occasions, lifting the trophy thrice under Mahendra
Singh Dhoni’s captaincy, in 2010, 2011 and 2018.

They had a
typically impressive campaign last term, finishing behind table-toppers Mumbai
Indians during the league round, before losing to the Rohit Sharma-led side by
a single run in the final in Hyderabad.  

Since their
return to the IPL in 2018, CSK have not given many chances to young players,
instead relying on a core group of players, like skipper Dhoni, opener Suresh
Raina, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, etc. for their success.

CSK did not
buy a single top order batsman to bolster a line up which under-performed last
year. Other than Dhoni, no batsman in the CSK squad got to a strike rate of
130.

They spend
14.4 crores in last year’s player auction on four players to add depth to areas
which already feature an incredible roster of international stars. Here’s a
look at 5 such players to watch out for.

1. Ruturaj Gaikwad

Suresh
Raina’s departure from this year’s IPL sets up the opportunity for young
Ruturaj Gaikwad to make his mark in the world’s most prominent T20 league.
Filling Raina’s shoes will be no mean feat, however.

Dubbed ‘Mr.
IPL’, Raina has amassed 5,368 runs and has been integral for CSK’s success over
the years.

Born in
Pune, Gaikwad burst onto the scene during the 16-17 Vijay Hazare Trophy, where
he ended as the third highest scorer. An opener with a penchant for scoring big
without taking risks caught the attention of many.

He has
since impressed in both List A and First-Class levels in domestic cricket. He
was snapped up by CSK ahead of the 2019 season and although he did not feature
much so far, he will surely play a more important role this term with the
availability of Raina’s spot.

2. Sam Curran

Sam Curran
represents the kind of well-rounded players that have been a regular feature in
Chennai’s squad over the years and will be required to pitch in for fading stars
like Shane Watson and Dwayne Bravo.

The
21-year-old Englishman will also help bring down the average age of an ageing
squad. Although he had an underwhelming debut season in the IPL, scoring just
95 runs and picking up 10 wickets in nine games for the Kings XI Punjab, his
impressive batting strike rate of over 150 in T20s this year and a career bowling
strike rate of 21 is testament to his quality.

3. R Sai Kishore

Chennai-born
Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore was brought in as part of CSK’s bid to usher in younger
players into the squad. The 23-year-old left-arm spinner has had a fantastic
domestic 19-20 season, especially flourishing in the Tamil Nadu Premier League.

Kishore
also shone during the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, picking up 20 wickets in 12
matches at a miserly economy rate of 4.63 to help Tamil Nadu finish as runners
up. He also came up with consistent performances in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and
the Ranji Trophy. 

Although it
is unlikely Kishore may get a spot in the starting eleven, given the excellent
spin options CSK boast of, he might get a few chances to display his skill and
will be an exciting future prospect.

4. Piyush Chawla

CSK spent
6.75 crore to make 30-year-old Piyush Chawla the most expensive Indian player
of this year’s player auction. His addition adds further depth to an already
incredible spin attack, spearheaded by South Africa’s Imran Tahir, who finished
last year’s top wicket-taker with 26 scalps. 

With 150
IPL wickets to his name, Piyush Chawla is a quality spinner and will enjoy
playing under captain MS Dhoni, who loves to have extra options up his sleeve.
Playing Chawla will also allow him to field an additional overseas player.

5. Josh Hazelwood

CSK went all-in for a frontline pacer,
battling out with Mumbai Indians for Australian Nathan Coulter-Nile, although
they were out-bid by the Mukesh Ambani-owned franchise. Hence, they turned
their attention to fellow Australian Josh Hazlewood.

Securing his services for Rs 2 crore, CSK
will be hoping the once-world beater can bring his deadly accuracy into play
during the power plays and controls scoring with impeccable line and length.

Hazlewood will bring experience and provide
another dimension to a pace attack boasting the likes of Lungi Ngidi, Deepak
Chahar and Shardul Thakur.