New Players, New Look

With the departure of key players like Mathew Hayden, Hussey and Oram, and the arrival of two new players - Morkel and Ntini, Chennai Super Kings sports a new look. Now the task lies on the hands of Dhoni and the management to make these new guys feel at home and continue the winning momentum. Hope the players like Ntini, Morkel and Fleming understand their role and play them into perfection.

 

Makhaya Ntini:

My opinions about him remains the same as the one I wrote in my squad analysis. His lack of variations in his bowling arsenal creates doubts about his T20 viability. But his recent form in the Indian Test series should bode well for the team.

Albie Morkel:

Relatively unknown foreign player in the squad, he is the second highest paid player in the squad. A T20 specialist, his performance in the recent South African Domestic T20 tournament made headlines. While his tight bowling helped his team(Titans) all through Pro20 series, his quick fire 33 (from 17 balls) became the critical difference between two teams in the finals.

Stephen Fleming:

An astute reader of game and the situations, his presence in the top order is enough to quell any doubts about the strength of CSK's top order even after the departure of Hayden and Hussey.

 

Impact - Batting:

Departure of Hayden and Hussey has surely eroded the touch of invincibility in our batting lineup. But our bowling is getting strengthened. A positive thing about the departure is that the middle order batsmen like Badrinath would get more opportunities. Hope they make them count. I am expecting Suresh Raina to become the key player. Hereafter, you will hear more from commentators on how Chennai Super Kings' young batsmen are making their opportunities count. :)

Impact - Bowling: 

With Ntini and Morkel, Chennai Super Kings' bowling is surely strengthened. Hereafter, Dhoni cannot complain that Chennai Super Kings lacks strike bowlers. In experienced Ntini, Murali and young and upcoming Gony, Chennai Super Kings boast three world class strike bowlers and in Joginder and Albie Morkel, the team boasts two bowlers who had tighten the run rate in the middle overs.