Squad for Champions League

Chennai Super Kings Squad for Champions T20 League

1. M S Dhoni(Captain)
2. Matthew Hayden
3. Michael Hussey
4. Suresh Raina
5. Albie Morkel
6. S Badrinath
7. Chamara Kapugedara
8. K B Arun Karthik
9. Parthiv Patel
10. R Ashwin
11. Muttiah Muralitharan
12. Makhaya Ntini
13. L Balaji
14. Manpreet Gony
15. Sudeep Tyagi

Coach: Stephen Fleming

Overall a very strong team. Certain nuggets that V B Chandrasekar revealed,

"There is hardly any chance of having a camp"

"If Parthiv (Patel) plays as an opener, he will keep the wickets"

"In this scenario unlike in IPL, we have to make sure that we get to the semi-final"

If I am given the responsibility of picking the team for the Champions T20 League, this would be my playing eleven. [Remember there is no restriction on the team to choose only four foreign players for the playing eleven]

1. M Hayden
2. Parthiv Patel[Chamara Kapugedara is neither a batsman nor a bowler. So why play him? Arun Karthik is just a back up player. But Parthiv could provide a much needed relief from wicketkeeping to Dhoni. But if Dhoni insists on wicket keeping, we may see Chamara playing]
3. M Hussey
4. Suresh Raina
5. Dhoni
6. S Badrinath
7. Albie Morkel
8. S Tyagi [Though Gony showed his potential with bat and ball in IPL, don't forget Gony entered the team only as a replacement to Tyagi and I don't think any of the foreign players would have answers to Tyagi's inswing]
9. Balaji [Though Gony impressed me during IPL, I prefer Balaji's cool attitude and his slow balls]
10. Makhaya Ntini [If he performs badly, bring Gony on]
11. Muttiah Muralitharan

As you can see there is going to be a huge selection problem regarding the choice of medium pacers/fast bowlers and the opener. Hope Dhoni and Fleming are able to take a clear cut call on this. Expect Sudeep Tyagi to miss out the earier matches of the tournament since nobody would have seen his bowling before that. 

Though Dhoni may prefer Chamara Kapugedara's all round abilities, I am sure Chandrasekar's preference would be playing Parthiv Patel as an opener cum wicket keeper. Though Sudeep Tyagi may be a better bowler than Balaji and Gony, expect both of them to play ahead of Sudeep Tyagi because of their reputation(Balaji) and their earlier performances(Gony in IPL). I am sure Arun Karthik and R Ashwin are 'just' back ups to cover the important slots (opener and spinner).

With no camp (i.e.) no chance for the team to get together before the league, it would be a hell of a job for Dhoni-Fleming combo to pull off this successfully. So Special 'All the best' to them and CSK Management.. 

And don't forget to write about your choice for the playing eleven in the comments... Also voice your opinion on who will be the key player for Chennai Super Kings Squad here.