Albie Would like to Stay @ CSK

After Dhoni & Haydos, Albie Morkel has also confirmed that he would like to play for Chennai Super Kings next season.. Check his twitter status @ http://twitter.com/albiemorkel/status/25239983473

Now waiting for Raina to confirm his allegiance to Chennai Superkings

P.S: Thanks Siddharth for the tip

Chennai Super Kings - Players to be Retained & Bought

Players to be retained

1. Dhoni: 3-in-1 player. Captain, Wicketkeeper and Batsman. Any doubts on whether he would be retained??

2. Raina: Foundation of all CSK Campaigns. Has not yet publicly confirmed on whether he would agree to be retained by Chennai Super Kings 

3. Murali Vijay: Had my doubts about his adaptability to South African pitches. Has proved his ability without any doubt. 

4. Albie Morkel: This all-rounder is the key to the team's wonderful balance. 

Substitutes:

1. Ashwin: If any of the Indian players does not agree to be retained, 3rd Indian player to be retained

2. Bollinger: If Albie does not agree to be retained, I would expect Bollinger to be retained.

Rules of Retention

1. Maximum 4 Players can be retained - Only a maximum of 3 Indian players and a maximum of 2 foreign can be retained. 

Players to be bought in Auction

1. Davy Jacobs: Impressed by his performance and attitude. Hope CSK are able to buy him in auction. 

2. Shane Watson: Worth every penny he gets paid. Let us see whether any club goes crazy about him. 

3. Ashwin: If he is not retained

4. Murali/Vettori: World class spinners who surely has another 2-3 years left in them.

5. Zaheer/Malinga: Whoever is not retained by Mumbai Indians

6. Hussey: He would be a wonderful addition to the team

7. Bravo/Oram/Razzaq: Another Bowling all-rounder would add a lot more value to the team. 

8. Dinesh Karthick:  Might be very tough to buy him in auction since he is a valuable addition to any team.

9. Yo Mahesh: Will be a valuable slow bowler addition to CSK Team. 

10. Badrinath: His presence in the team is crucial especially in the low-scoring games.

11. Maharoof:  Any of them would be a huge value addition to any team

Key Strategy: Buy them Young. Rather than putting the priority on winning the immediate season, it is essential to build a team that wins more trophies than any other club in India.

Who do you think should Chennai Super Kings buy and retain?


Also read my post on retention at the end of IPL Season 3 @ http://blog.cskfansite.com/2010/04/players-for-next-few-years.html

Champions League Final - Match Review

Another Great Win for Chennai Super Kings!!! Wonderful performance by the bowlers and batsmen. Deserved Champion of Champions this year. All these factors are triumphed by the fact that the win is setup by two unknown talented local players - Ashwin & Vijay. 

Positives:

1. Ashwin: His wicket of Jacobs was the crucial one today. I am sure the team management would be now breaking their head on whether they want to retain Vijay or Ashwin.Deserving winner of 'Man of the Series'.

2. Vijay: Another wonderful performance. by him. My choice for 3rd player to be retained (If Dhoni & Raina agree to be retained). 

3. Balaji: Good performance in the first three overs and ensuring that he tightened the noose around Warriors. 

4. Hussey: Good team performance. This might be the last time we see him in the yellow jersey. 

5. Murali: Proved his worth. Hope CSK are able to buy him in the auction. 

Negatives:

There was none.. Closest game to a perfect one... :)

CSK Fan's Man of the Match: Ashwin

His wicket of Jacobs won the game for Chennai Super Kings. 

Match Summary:  Chennai Super Kings 132 for 2 (Vijay 58, Hussey 51*) beat Warriors 128 (Murali 3-16, Ashwin 2-16) by 8 wickets 

We are Champions of Champions!!!!

Whoa!!! Whoa!!! We are the champions of Champions. 

1 IPL Semifinalists, 1 IPL Runner-up and 1 IPL Champions; Chennai Super Kings add Champions of Champions title also to their bag.. 

Wonderful Campaign  - With not even one team able to defeat them in the alloted 20 overs. Masterclass performance. Feel bad Chennai Super Kings are not able to retain the same team.. 

Not a bad last hurray for a certain players who will never might wear the yellow jersey... 

Chennai Super Kings Qualifies for Semifinals!!!

Another pseudo-quarterfinal match. Another poor start.. Another poor performance in the first innings. Another victory plucked from the jaws of defeat. Another semifinals.. Good Work! Team!

Positives

1. Hussey: Good to see Hussey in good nick It is crucial for the team that Hussey continues his good form against Steyn & Co.

2. Ashwin: Good to see him make a strong comeback after a poor performance in the last match. 

3. Jakati: Fine performance by Jakati. His performance is bound to give Fleming & Dhoni some selection problems. 

4. Murali: Another fine performance. The building block on which all Chennai Super Kings wins have been built.

Negatives

1. Injury to Albie: Injury to Albie still continues. Hope he is fit for the crucial match against Bangalore Royal Challengers

2. Where is IPL Bollinger? Waiting for Bollinger to reveal his IPL form.

CSK Fans' Man of the Match: Ashwin - His wickets won the match for Chennai Super Kings. 

Match Summary:Chennai Super Kings 136 for 6 (Hussey 50, Vijay 35, Kreusch 3-19) beat Warriors 126 for 8 (Jacobs 32, Ashwin 3-24)

Chennai Super Kings falter against Hussey & Finch blitzkrieg

First! Congrats to Chennai Super Kings on pulling the game back after Finch's blitzkrieg. That alone should give the team enough confidence to keep on fighting - until the final ball is bowled. But I still can't believe Dhoni gave the super over to Ashwin. Hope the coaching team and Dhoni learn from this mistake. 

Positives:

1. Tight Finish: I am sure the experience of playing in a tight game would come handy when the team qualifies for semifinals. 

2. Hussey IN: Good decision by the team. Hope they continue with Hussey opening for CSK. 

3. Vijay: Another good performance by him. Ensuring that the team has to think hard between retaining him and Bollinger. 

4. Murali: Wonderful effort by Wizard to bring his team into the game after the initial blitzkrieg. 

Negatives:

1. Ashwin: Ashwin's Powerplay magic has come to an end. Hope his confidence is not affected by this super over. 

2. Balaji: Another poor bowling effort. Time for him to get his act together and raise his performance. 

CSK Fans' Man of the Match - Murali

Brief Match Summary - Chennai Super Kings 162 for 6 (Vijay 73, Hastings 2-22) tied with Victoria Bushrangers 162 (D Hussey 51, Finch 41, Raina 4-26, Murali 2-17). Victoria won in Super Over

Chennai Super Kings Ready for Victorian Pace Attack?

That would be the question that Chennai Super Kings has to answer in today's match against Victoria Bushrangers. How Raina & Vijay play Nannes & Siddle would determine the match. 

CSK My XI:

1. Vijay 2. Anirudha 3. Raina 4. Hussey 5. Badri 6. Dhoni 7. Albie Morkel 8. Ashwin 9. Balaji 10. Bollinger 11. Murali

Hussey for Hayden: It is a tough choice to pick Hussey ahead of Hayden. Hayden in form brings more to CSK team than Hussey. And we can't discount Hayden's fine knocks in the practice games. But seeing him struggle in the lat match showed that Hussey is a better choice . 

Victoria Bushranges Probable XI:

1 Rob Quiney, 2 Brad Hodge, 3 Aaron Finch, 4 David Hussey (capt.), 5 Andrew McDonald, 6 Matthew Wade (wk), 7 John Hastings, 8 Clint McKay, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Bryce McGain/James Pattinson, 11 Dirk Nannes

Most Dangerous Players:

1. Dirk Nannes: Unlike last year, Dirk Nannes is having a poor Champions League so far. So he would be looking forward to get better. 

2. Siddle: Siddle's pace is bound to trouble all Indian batsman. 

Favorites: Provided Chennai Super Kings pick Hussey ahead of Hayden, they would be the favorites. I am sure the match would be decided on whether Victorian pace attack or Chennai Super Kings batting attack win the battle. 

Another Easy Win

Another Good Show by the Team. Another Easy Win. Good to see the entire team contributing to the win. 

Positives:

1. Raina & Vijay: Raina & Vijay got among runs. This knock should really give Raina enough confidence to counter Victorian and Warriors fast bowlers. 

2. Bowlers: Good show by bowlers to restrict Srilankan to a low score. And snuffing the hopes of Wayamba of any surprise victory in the first six overs itself. 

Negatives:

1. Hayden: Was really sad to see the great batsman huffing and puffing in such a easy wicket. Sorry Hayden! It is time for you to hang up your boots from competitive cricket. Time to bring in Hussey in and ask Anirudha/Hussey to open for CSK. 

Now the team moves to face the stronger opponents in the group. And the team needs to win atleast one match to forge ahead in the tournament. 

Fan's Man of the Match: Raina - His 28-run Mendis over effectively ended the contest. 

CSK Starts their Campaign with a Bang

In hindsight, Chennai Super Kings won the game easily. But for the first ten overs, i thought that the game would be anything but easy. Thanks to Badri & Srikanth's fine innings, the team ended up with a respectable score of 151. And the bowling team backed up the good effort by the batsman to restrict Stags to 94 ..

Positives:

1. Badri: With Fleming & Dhoni dropping Hussey out of the team, the responsibility of anchoring the innings rests on Badri. So great to see him among runs in a difficult pitch

2. Bowlers:All the bowlers had a good match. Great to see Murali in his 800 Jersey. (Kudos CSK Management on this innovation)

Negatives:

1. Hayden: If Hayden hits form, no team in the tournament can win against CSK. So sad to see him not able to carry his practice game form. Hope Hayden gets scoring next match. Or Fleming might be tempted to drop Hayden for Hussey. 

2. Dropped Catches: CSK's tradition of dropping catches still continues. 

Fan's Man of the Match: Badri - A key innings that laid the foundation for today's victory.

A Must-Win Match Against Minnows!!!

Tomorrow Chennai Super Kings start their Champions League campaign against New Zealand Champions - Central District Stags. Chennai Super Kings could not have asked for a easier game than this. Stags - devoid of their international stars (Ross Taylor and Oram) are the weakest team in the tournament. A team that is banking on its young, unknown fast bowlers surprising others - should be easily tackled by Chennai Super King... provided they pick the right team.

Central Stags Squad:. 

BOWLERS

Michael Mason

Mitchell McClenaghan

BATSMEN

Brad Patton

George Worker

Jamie How

Matthew Sinclair

Peter Ingram

ALL ROUNDERS

Adam Milne

Brandon Diamanti

Doug Bracewell

Ben Wheeler

K. N. Barnett

Seth Rance

WICKET KEEPER

Bevan Griggs

Tim Weston

CSK - My XI 

1. Hayden 2. Vijay 3. Raina 4. Hussey 5. Badri 6. Dhoni 7. Albie Morkel 8. Ashwin 9. Jakati 10. Balaji 11. Bollinger

My Prediction: Unless Fleming & Dhoni make some foolish team selections, Chennai Super Kings should win the match easily. 

Thushara Out! Kemp In!

Because of the sudden injury to Thilan Thushara, Chennai Super Kings are forced to replace him with Justin Kemp. 


Squad: MS Dhoni (capt &wk), S Badrinath, M Vijay, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Shadab Jakati, A Srikkanth, L Balaji, Muttiah Muralitharan, Michael Hussey, Doug Bollinger, Justin Kemp, Albie Morkel, Matthew Hayden, Joginder Sharma.

Who should be retained for IPL4?

Finally IPL Governing council have decided on the player retention policy. 

Player Retention Policy

1. Only 4 Players can be retained by any team
1. Out of 4 players, maximum 3 Indians and a maximum of 2 foreigners are allowed. 
2. Retained players must have been part of IPL Season 3 and would not be part of the auction
1. For a player to be retained, both the player and franchise have to agree.
3. Irrespective of the fee decided between the player and the franchise, the total franchise salary cap of 9 million dollars will be reduced by fixed amounts
1. $1.8 million per year for the first player retained
2. $1.3 million per year for the second player retained
3. $900,000 per year for the third player retained
4. $500,000 per year for the fourth player retained
4. So if a team retains the four players, it would have only 50% of the budget available - 4.5 Million USD

CSK Strategy

1. Dhoni & Raina are obvious choices for the player retention. I am sure CSK would put their best efforts to retain both these players

2. Albie & Dougie - Both these players have a very good chance of being retained. But their performances in Champions League would determine that. 

Why Albie/Hayden & Dougie are not obvious choices?

Because i expect the fee for the foreign players to be rationalized in this year's auction. 

Whom do you think Chennai Super Kings should retain?

New IPL League Format Sucks!!!

New IPL League Format

With the addition of 2 more teams, IPL Governing council was forced either to increase the total games to 94 or reduce the number of league games per team. Rather than picking one of these choices, the governing council went for a compromise and picked a rather idiotic and a confusing option.

How does new IPL League format works?

1. 10 Teams are divided into 2 groups - Group A & Group B - Each group with five teams
2. Each Team plays 14 games in the league stage


1. Each team in a group plays 2 games - home & away - against other teams in the group


1. So each team plays 8 games against their group members


2. Also each team in a group plays 2 games - home & away - against one of the teams in the other group


1. This is decided randomly. So each team plays 2 games against a randomly picked member from other group


3. Also each team plays other teams in the other group once.


1. It can be home or away. So each team plays 4 games likewise - making  a total of 14 games


3. Based on the league stage, all the teams are ranked in a single table. (Confusing??? What is the reason for then dividing to 2 groups???)
4. 3rd and 4th ranked team in the table play against each other for a place in the semifinals
5. 1st and 2nd ranked team play against each other for a direct entry to the finals.
6. Loser of the match between 1st and 2nd plays the winner of 3rd and 4th for a place on the finals.. (Who came up with this?)

A format that truly gives a new meaning to the word "Knockout stage". Surely none other than IPL bosses can come up with such a foolish system.

Pick Your XI For CSK Champions League Squad

Only 6 more days to see Chennai Super Kings on the field. The team would be opening the campaign with a match against New Zealand Champions - Central Stags. Considering hard & bouncy South African pitches, priorities of team selection vary from selection @ India.  

My Pick - XI

1. Hayden - Though he failed in IPL3 and has not played a competitive game for the last 3 months, he is the best choice to open CSK Innings in South African pitches. Expecting to see a little mongoose magic. 

2. Vijay - South African pitches are bound to test him. And Fleming would be tempted to play experienced Parthiv ahead of him. 

3. Raina - Expect all the teams to test him with short balls. Would be Interesting to see his reaction and his strategy. 

4. Hussey - In my opinion, the most crucial batsman in the line-up. His innings would be crucial in low-scoring games.

5. Albie - Most crucial player in the line-up. If he is not in the best of the form, we can forget winning champions league this time

6. Dhoni - Hopefully, he would stick to No:6 and uses himself mostly as a pinch-hitter. 

7.  Badri - Might become crucial in low scoring games

8. Ashwin - Would be leading the spin attack for the team. Considering the pitches, picking Murali might not be a wise decision

9. Shadab Jakati/Thushara - Based on the pitches, it would be wise to pick Jakati or Thushara

10. Balaji - I am sure South African pitches would be aiding him more than Indian pitches. Weakest link in the line-up. If he is not performing, the team would be forced to pick Thushara ahead of either Hayden or Hussey. 

11. Dougie - Entire Expectations of the bowling unit rests solely on him. Would be interesting to see whether his performances can convince the team management to retain him. 

Knowing Fleming & Dhoni, they might be inclined to pick Parthiv as a opener and may pick Thushara as a fifth bowler and choose not to pick Hussey/Hayden and Shadab Jakati/Joginder

P.S: To know the 15 player squad, please visit Chennai Super Kings CLT20 Squad.