Chennai Super Kings Training Session Begins

While the other teams are still undecided on various things, Chennai Super Kings team has begun its final preparation for IPL extravangza. The team started its initial training session yesterday. Chennai SuperKings (CSK) Trainer Gregory King and seven chennai super kings players - Suresh Raina, Parthiv Patel, Joginder Sharma, Manpreet Gony, Sudip Tyagi, Shadab Jakati and S. Anirudha started their training session at Chepauk. Thanks to the semi-finals of the first division league, the other players missed out on training session. They are expected to join the training session this week.

Direct from the Training Session

Wisdom of King

Gregory King believes the pleasant weather in South Africa during this time of the year could provide some relief to the teams as they grapple with a gruelling schedule in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Back from Injuries

"The cricketers appear to be in good shape" said King. Pacemen Joginder Sharma and Sudip Tyagi are returning from injuries, "Joginder had an injury to his heel and, so far, he has looked good. Tyagi has come back from a stress fracture of the back. I think he has recovered well," he said. [Just hope Jacob Oram also joins this list]

CSK Starts its Tour on April 8

The cricketers will train till April 3 and the second training session will start on April 6. Chennai Super King are planning to leave for South Africa on April 8.

News Source: Hindu

For regular updates about Chennai Super Kings, please enter your email address below

Why IPL - Season 2 would be successful?

When Indian Premier League was first announced in February 2008, most of the cricket commentators and bloggers doubted the success of the event. And the success of IPL proved all the naysayers wrong. Even now, with the shifting of IPL to South Africa, critics have started commenting that Indian Premier League would not succeed this year. But I am sure that IPL - Season 2 would become a huge success because of the following reasons:

1. Pathetic Substitutes: I strongly believe that IPL succeeded because the Indian Common Man does not have any other better enteraintement options. And in the last one year, there has been no drastic improvement in the other enterntainment available on TV and IPL would again successfully become the best thing to watch on TV.
2. Timing: IPL owes its success largely to the annual Summer Holidays when college and school students are free from other commitments. This year too, Indian Premier League has ensured that IPL is happening in the same window. Also 8PM startup on weekdays and 4 PM start on weekends ensures that even the parents would join their kids in watching the tournament.
3. Quality of Cricket: Not only the concept of City-Based-Loyalty, but also the quality of cricket made the key difference in the long-run. Quality of Cricket ensured that the fans came back, again and again to the grounds. Cricket was one of the most competitive cricket i have ever seen in my life. And for a change from the international scenario, it was tough to predict the winner of the game.

Though Indian Premier League has been shifted to South Africa, they still retain these key characteristics that laid the foundation for the success last year. As T20 World Cup showed, I am sure South Africans would turn in large numbers to watch IPL drama. Though the teams would miss the loyal fans, I am sure entertaining teams like Chennai Super Kings would have built a fan base in South Africa by the end of tournament. [Any South African Chennai Super Kings Fan willing to reach out to the global Chennai Super Kings Fanbase through this blog, do get back in touch with me at chennaisuperkings[at]gmail[dot]com]

Anyway, Wishing a Great Indian Premier League - Season 2.

News Snippets

1. Buried Past: Finally an interesting information from the past. Have you ever wondered who took that decision to send Kapugedara ahead of Badrinath in Finals of IPL Season 1. All CSK fans agreed that it was a decision that made the difference between a win and a loss [See the post and the comments]. In Dinakar's article on Hindu, he makes it clear that it was Kepler Wessels who took that ill-fated decision overruling Dhoni's Decision of sending Badrinath. And this decision was one of the key reasons for losing his job as the coach of Chennai Super Kings.
2. Srikkanth Disappointed: Srikkanth has also communicated his disappointment on the shifting of venues - "I am also among the fans of Chennai Super Kings. I am also disappointed like my friends in the CSK Club" [News Source: Chennaivision]

Super Kings Getting Ready for Safari Land

With the sudden shift in venues, Chennai Super Kings Management are working hard to accomodate this sudden change and get the team ready for the Safari Land. As a first step, the team is planning a 10 Day Camp ahead of the competition in South Africa. But the Indian, Australian and South African international players would be able to join the camp only at the end.

South African Connections

The team also expects the South African presence in the squad - Ntini, Albie Morkel & trainer Gregory King to be very beneficial this season. Their key inputs and knowledge about the local conditions would be vital to the success of the team. Also Hussey, Hayden and Flintoff have a lot of experience in playing in South Africa. To top it, our captain, Dhoni has happy memories of South Africa where he skippered the Indian team to memorable victory in the inaugural T20 World Cup two seasons ago.

Final Eighteen for Second Season of IPL

With IPL shifting to South Africa, Chennai Super Kings Management has decided to cut the size of the touring Chennai Super Kings team to 18[News Source: Hindu]. To know the entire 29 member Chennai Super Kings team, visit Chennai Super Kings Squad.

Thankfully... the team management has left the duty of picking the eighteen touring members to Dhoni & Fleming. But K. S. Viswanathan of India Cements promised that the travelling squad list would be out in two or three days.

Who do you think would be the final eighteen? Sixteen out of 29 pick themself. It is the final two that is going to cause all the headache. My Pick Below:

1. Dhoni
2. Muralitharan
3. Hayden
4. Hussey
5. Flintoff
6. Albie Morkel
7. Ntini
8. Jacob Oram
9. Parthiv Patel - As a backup wicketkeeper, he would be surely there.
10. Badrinath
11. Suresh Raina
12. Gony - Last Season's performance surely finds him a spot
13. Sudeep Tyagi - Domestic Season justify his presence
14. Joginder Sharma - His T20 Semifinal performance alone justifys his presence
15. Murali Vijay - Solves our opener problem
16. Balaji
17. Abhinav Mukund - Had a great domestic Season and would be a great exposure for him
18. R Ashwin - Team needs a back-up Indian spinner for Murali

It is sad that Thushara & Bailey would be missing out this season. Though they are talented than some of the players in the eighteen, 4 foreign player rule effectively rules them out.

Close Miss Outs

1. Vidyut - Though his all rounding abilities is a great positive, he has to do something well
2. Thushara - I still suspect Chennai Super Kings would fly him to South Africa after the departure of Flintoff

What do you think? Is this the best eighteen out of the entire 29 Member Squad.

Chennai Super Kings Website getting Bigger & Better

Though the shifting of venues may result in a smaller scale IPL. Rakesh Singh, Marketing Head of India Cements Ltd. has promised us that Chennai Super Kings Website would get better and bigger. Citing te several million page views last year, he has promised a lot more features this time around.

According to him, the blog is just the first of these initiatives. He has promised that the online store with special merchandise (T-Shirts, Caps, Wrist Bands), a WAP Site and mobile store for ring tones, themes, anthems, wallpapers, news alerts and unique team-centric content from a dedicated editorial staff would be available.

Also after a long time, Chennai Super Kings Online Merchandise Store is finally open. You can buy Chennai Super Kings T-Shirt, Cap and Wrist Band @ the store. [I just bought the blue CSK T-Shirt]

News Source: exchange4media

Chennai Super Kings are Favorites

Though there was a lot of uncertainity around the second season of Indian Premier League, betting for Indian Premier League has already started going great guns. And the competition is already looking fierce in terms of betting on the Indian Premier League - 2009 Season.

As per the current reports, Chennai Super Kings is leading the odds with 4-1, ahead of the next placed Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab at 5-1. And I don't disagree. :)

News Source: Betting Choice

NR-IPL @ South Africa

It is official. Indian Premier League - Season 2 would take place in South Africa. Thanks to favorable weather & government, Lalit Modi & Co. have preferred South Africa over England. Thanks to South African domestic season, the tournament will start a week later on April 18th. So Andrew Flintoff's availability to Chennai Super Kings would be further reduced by a week. But Albie Morkel, Ntini and Hussey would be now available for the entire tournament.

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 Stars and Management Also Disappointed

Disappointed Players

After Flintoff expressed his disappointment over shifting of venues to a place outside India, all CSK Stars are joining the fans in expressing their disappointment. Badrinath has said that he would miss Chepauk atmosphere. But he believes that playing in international venues would not affect the chance of team making into semifinals and would do a great deal of good to his career.

"Playing in South Africa or England will be interesting. And we really have a very balanced team that can do well anywhere."

Disappointed Management

While Chennai Super Kings players are disappointed about missing Chepauk atmosphere, Chennai Super Kings managment is disappointed that they would lose 12.5 Crore revenues from gate sales. Still they are optimistic about creating a new fan base wherever they are asked to play.

Also the managment is going to treat this like a tour and are not expecting to have more than 16-18 players in the squad.

News Source: Television Point

Venkatesh Prasad Joins Chennai Super Kings

Another great news for Chennai Super Kings. VB & Co. have been successful in convincing Venkatesh Prasad to become a part of Chennai Super Kings Support Team. The move looks like a master-stroke especially after the shifting of IPL matches to international venues. I am sure Venky's expertise and experience would be of great help to Gony, Tyagi, etc. who have little experience of international pitches. Also Venkatesh Prasad would be playing a perfect foil to Stephen Fleming.

Venkatesh Prasad! Chennai Super Kings Fans, Welcome you to the squad. Hope to see a much improved Chennai Super Kings bowling Unit this season.

News Source: Hindu

IPL: We are Disappointed

I was hoping that Lalit Modi & Co. would stitch up a miracle and will ensure that Indian Premier takes place this year. But I was sad when i came to know that the miracle was shifting IPL to another country. I understand that no other solution was possible. But still my heart aches to find out that I can watch my favorite IPL team only on television.

Hmm.. Anyway, Thanks for atleast conducting the event. Hope all the logistics are worked out in two weeks. And everything takes place without any glitch.

Update: Even Flintoff joins CSK Fans in expressing his disappointment over the switch. [Telegraph]

Photo Source: Lancashire Evening Post

Great IPL Drama!!!

With the first ever auction in Cricket, cheerleaders and Businessmen, I thought that no seasons of Indian Premier League could rival the first season viz-a-viz drama. But just the second season of Indian Premier League has proved me wrong. 

First we saw Flintoff and Pietersen becoming the highest paid IPL Players. Then to everybody's surprise we saw Mortaza being snapped up for 0.6 Million USD. The Clubs paid these prices, when there was a Global Economic Crisis all around the world and pink slips are a norm in all the companies. I believed all these drama would be over with the auctions and focus would shift back to Cricket and Economics (Sponshorships)

Sadly, I was wrong. Lahore Happened. And everybody (including our very own Jacob Oram) started raising their concerns about the security. Even before that crisis settled down, Indian Home Minister Chidambaram joined the fray by dropping a bombshell about the security problems for conducting IPL during elections. Add to this, the recent controversy about the television rights of IPL, confusion reigns in the second season of Indian Premier League

Thankfully, Lalit Modi has not given up hope and is now running pillar and post to various offices of Central and State Governments to get the necessary permission for running IPL. My hopes are not lost too. I still believe that the current schedule submitted by Lalit Modi would be accepted by Central Government. 

But the biggest losers in all these drama are the fans like you & me. Delhi and Jaipur may not even play a single match in their home, while chennai super kings would be forced to conduct four of its home matches in an alien state. [News: Cricinfo]. Hopefully, Cricket in Season 2 matches the increased drama of this season and the next season is much more peaceful. 

Modi! Bring the Cricket On!

News Snippets

1. No Surprises in Chennai Super Kings Squad: Unlike last year, there are no surprises in the announced Chennai Super Kings Squad for this year. View the entire Chennai Super Kings Squad for IPL - Season 2
2. 7Up to Hydrate Chennai Super Kings Squad: Pepsi Co has announced 7Up as the official Hydration partner for Chennai Super Kings. PepsiCo will also launch a promotional campaign allowing CSK fans to play with the team and serve as drink-helpers during matches. [News : Indian Television]
3. No Paramilitary forces for IPL: Hardly two days after the IPL Organisers were told to reconsider dates a second time, Home Ministry has said that the concerned states should not expect any help from paramilitary forces during games. This adds further spin to the entire event. Hople Lalit Modi is able to work out a magical formual and ensure that IPL takes place this year. [News Source: Cricinfo]
4. 3 Games to Prove Fitness: According to Daily Mail, Flintoff has to get fit in another 3 matches if he has to be allowed by English Cricket Board to play for Chennai Super Kings this year.  

News Snippets

1. Oram having "Second Thoughts": Following the Lahore Attack on Srilankan Cricket Team, the news agencies started coming up with the reports that Oram was having second thoughts about travelling to India for the Indian Premier League. Read the newsreport here. I am sure this is just another instance of newspapers blowing up casual remarks and I am 100% Certain that Oram would be turning up for IPL this time
2. Murali Joins In: After Oram, even Murali joined in the chorus of having second thoughts about IPL. [Read here] As you can read from the newsreport, it is just another instance of newspapers twisting the comments.
3. TN CM Karunanidhi Joins In: But i got really doubtful when Karunanidhi also joined in the chorus asking for the postponement of the tournament. [News Source: ChennaiOnline] If the most secure metro city in India vis-a-vis terrorism raises doubts w.r.t. security, where can you go?
4. 10 Times More Security: Thankfully, Modi has confirmed that they would be spending 10 times more on Security this year and Chennai would host all the seven matches. [NewsSource: Indian Express]

IPL 2009 - Chennai Super Kings - Fixtures

Date	Vs	Location	Time (IST)
April 18, 2009	Mumbai Indians	Cape Town	4 PM
April 20, 2009	Bangalore Royal Challengers	Port Elizabeth	8 PM
April 23, 2009	Delhi Daredevils	Durban	4 PM
April 25, 2009	Kolkata Knight Riders	Cape Town	4 PM
April 27, 2009	Deccan Chargers	Durban	4 PM
April 30, 2009	Rajasthan Royals	Centurion	8 PM
May 2, 2009	Delhi Daredevils	Johannesburg	8 PM
May 4, 2009	Deccan Chargers	East London	8 PM
May 7, 2009	Kings XI Punjab	Centurion	8 PM
May 9, 2009	Rajasthan Royals	Kimberley	8 PM
May 14, 2009	Bangalore Royal Challengers	Durban	4 PM
May 16, 2009	Mumbai Indians	Port Elizabeth	4 PM
May 18, 2009	Kolkata Knight Riders	Centurion	8 PM
May 20, 2009	Kings XI Punjab	Durban	8 PM
May 22, 2009	Semi-Final 1	Centurion
May 23, 2009	Semi-Final 2	Johannesburg
May 24, 2009	Final	Johannesburg