Key TN ICL Players Missing in CSK Squad

Who will decide the winner of IPL Season 3? Will it again be the captains like in IPL Season 1? Or a player will make a difference single-handedly? If somebody asks for my vote, I would have voted for the contingent of Indian ICL Players who will be playing in Indian Premier League for the first time.

Sudden flow of talent would have easily tilted the scales in favor of the team that signed the best ICL players. I wanted that team to be Chennai Super Kings. Especially I was expecting VB to use this opportunity to address the two key problems in the team

1. Lack of Explosive Indian Opening Batsman
2. Lack of a Stand-out Indian Fast/Medium Bowler

ICL Players in CSK Squad

But sadly the team has signed on Badani – A Middle Order Batsman & Ganapathy – Bowling all-rounder coming on the back of a good domestic season. But let us not kid ourself by thinking that these players would make a difference to the team. Other than being present in the team sheet, these two new signings are not expected to play any role for the team in the field.

Whom I wanted?

1. Vignesh
2. Kumaran

I would have expected the team to sign Vignesh, the explosive TN Opening Batsman on whose performance TN won India’s first domestic T20 event. I also expected the team to sign Kumaran, the standout performers of ICL Chennai Superstar. Sadly, Vignesh has been latched by KKR while Kumaran is not figuring in any of the team’s sheets.

Whom among Indian ICL Players did you expect Chennai Super Kings to sign?

Disappointed!!!

A Disappointing Performance by our team. Poor Team Selection by Fleming and Dhoni. (Gony ahead of Tyagi & Ashwin and Oram ahead of Hussey). And the players proved that on the field.

So Chennai Super Kings end their IPL Campaign this year. And no Champions League for Chennai Super Kings this year. And a long one year wait for CSK Fans to see those yellow jerseys back on the field. Adios!

What Went Wrong?

We have lost 2 out of 3 matches. While a lot of fans may give a lot of excuses like we were unlucky to meet the top teams in our first three matches, we played well but lost, etc. I don't accept any of them. With the potential this team has, it should have won both the games easily. But first let us see what went wrong:

1. Pathetic Team Selection: Murali did not play in the first match; Ashwin never bowled though he played the match; Joginder Sharma still plays for CSK.
2. Utilizing the Players Foolishly: If Flintoff is our strike bowler, why is he bowling at the death. Why Badri is playing lower down the order? Why is Dhoni going higher up in the order always? Why is Parthiv preferred over Vijay? Why is Balaji - a fine death bowler not utilized at the death overs?
3. Defensive Mindset: A Lot of times, it seems the team plays with a very defensive mindset. CSK should not forget that they hvae promised the fans that they would be "Fearless Entertainers who play to win'

Thanks to Hayden, we lost both the matches with pride. But if not for Hayden, the opposition teams would have annihilated us. Hope some wisdom prevails and Fleming & Dhoni get their act together.

First Things First

• Ask Morkel not to rest on his last year laurels and start performing again
• Send Badrinath at No:4
• Let Dhoni come in at No: 6 or at No:7
• Open the bowling attack with Flintoff & Gony
• Give Tyagi a chance ahead of Joginder Sharma
• Use Balaji as a death bowler
• Bring Vijay in the place of Parthiv Patel

Hope somebody in the team listens to the fans. Otherwise, we will be watching Deccan Chargers repeat of the last season i.e. pre tournament favorites ending in the bottom of the table.

What do you think went wrong? What do you think should be done to rectify the situation?

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More Chennai Super Kings Stars Disappointed About Shifting

After Flintoff and Badrinath expressing their disappointment of shifting of IPL venues, Lakshimpath Balaji also joined in and expressed his disappointment on shifting IPL outside India. Balaji said to Hindu that,

"It is quite depressing in that we won't have home matces. But at least the IPL is making it happen. "

Even Muralitharan, who narrowly escaped from the terrorist attacks in Lahore, has expressed his disappointment in an interview with TOI,

"Yes it is extremely disappointing that we won't get the opportunity to playin India. IPL proved to be such an exciting cricket tournament last year, what with international and national cricketers, lots of stars, celebs and the fast-paced T20 format.

I don't know whether we will get the same environment again. But then, as cricketers, we are contract-bound and have to play wherever they organize the tournament. "

Chennai Super Kings and Nayanthara part ways

Today's press release from Chennai Super Kings had a shocking news for the fans of Nayanthara. Much to their surprise, they learnt that Chennai Super Kings has sacked Nayanthara.

Reason for Firing

Gurunath Meiyappan (AVM), the son-in-law of India Cements MD told

“As Nayanthara is unable to meet the commitments of regular match appearances, the team has now decided to go with a single star ambassador and from now Mr Vijay will be the sole brand ambassador for CSK. We are planning to shoot the promotional video with Vijay and Dhoni this week”.

Gurunath also added that when Nayanthara signed the contract it was made clear that she should make an appearance in all the seven CSK matches which were to be held in Chennai. But she did not honour her commitment, and so her contract was being terminated.

Nayanthara Shocked:

  Nayanthara, in her interview to Sify, says that she is yet to recover from that shock. But she affirms that

Whether I am the star ambassador or not, I love cricket and I am a firm believer in the sportsman spirit. Chennai has given me everything in life and CSK is my team. I will cheer for them and wish Dhoni and his boys all the best.

My Take:

Nayanthara may have broken the contract by not attending the first match due to her sickness. Her presence may not be needed now since the Chennai crowd is already behind the team. But Nayanthara surely adds a glamour quotient and would be a huge asset to the team. So CSK management, Please don't terminate her contract.

Robin Singh is Poached!!!

At least a few of the cricket fans of Chennai(like me) would have been disappointed on hearing the news that son of the soil, Dinesh Karthik is not part of Chennai Super Kings Squad. (Read my disappointment on hearing the news @ Where is Dinesh Karthik???). And their misery would have been increased further on hearing the news that Robin Singh, another ex-Tamilnadu cricket team player(residing in Chennai) was poached by the rival team from Hyderabad.

Hyderabad gives its reasons for signing Robin Singh at Cricinfo,

'Hyderabad, who bought Australian allrounder Andrew Symonds for US$1.35 million, said Singh was their "logical choice" for coach.

"Former Hyderabad offspinner and domestic veteran Kanwaljit Singh will assist Robin," Mohanraj, a former Ranji opener for Hyderabad, said. "Robin is a logical choice as he understands the Indian conditions. The tournament is just over a month away, and he wouldn't need any time to adjust to the situation here, unlike maybe some of the foreign coaches. He has also worked with our Indian players [VVS Laxman, Rohit Sharma and RP Singh], which makes it easier." '

If Chennai Super Kings was not able to give the role of the coach to Robin Singh(due to his inexperience), they could have atleast given some other strategic role that satisfies him.

Srinivasan and VB Chandrasekhar! are u guys sleeping to let off Robin Singh that easily????
Or is there some other valid reason???

Hope you guys, bring some happiness back into the hearts of the fans by bringing a good coach!!!