Deccan Herald Reports on CSK's Retention

Deccan Chronicle reports that Chennai Super Kings are set to retain 

1. Dhoni 

2. Raina

3. Vijay

4. Albie Morkel.

Other Key Information from the news article

1. CSK will go flat out for Ashwin in auction. Murali has been communicated the same. 

2. Mumbai Indians are set to retain Sachin Tendulkar, Lasith Malinga, Kieron Pollard (both overseas) and Harbhajan Singh

3. Delhi are set to retain Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Ashish Nehra

4. Pune Warriors offered captaincy to Raina. But Raina chose to stay with Chennai Super Kings. 

Personally, I believe that this new article is drawn out from thin air rather than from reliable sources. So read it with a grain of salt.  More newsreports -
DNA Confirms they have not been able to confirm with CSK Team.
ESPNStar says that

Chennai Super Kings has announced the players they would retain.
India captain MS Dhoni, destructive middle order batsman Suresh Raina, opener Murali Vijay and South African all-rounder Albie Morkel, have been held. (Thanks Sri Raghav for the tip]

But still I would believe these reports only after the final list is submitted to BCCI tomorrow. 

Opening Ceremony of IPL - Season 4

Srinivasan shows his might and has ensured that the opening ceremony of IPL - Season 4 would be happening at Chennai. Since Chennai Super Kings are the current IPL Champions, IPL - Season 4 finals would also be happening at Chennai. Lucky that Chennai gets to see both the opening and closing ceremonies of next IPL. 

Auction on Jan 8 & Jan 9

The IPL Governing Council, that met today, has come out with a few key decisions
1. Official Reduction of 10 teams to 8 teams: It has been officially informed that there would be only 8 teams in IPL - Season 4. Final death knell on Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab. Thanks to this decision, we don't have live with the new league format.
2.  Auction for IPL - 4 will take place on January 8 & 9. It has postponed from the earlier planned November.
3. Key Change in determining Finalists: Concept of Semi-finals has been removed from IPL. After the league phase is over, top two will play a play-off match that would determine one of the finalists. The team lose in this play-off would play against the winner of the match between 3rd and 4th placed team to determine the other finalist.


Simpler Explanation
Play-off Match: 1 - Team No:1 in League Table Vs Team No: 2 in League Table
Play-off Match 2 - Team No:3 in League Table Vs Team No: 4 in League Table
Play-off Match 3 - Loser of Play-off Match 1 Vs Winner of Play-off Match 2
Winners  of Play-off matches 1 and 3 qualifies for finals.


I have to agree that this is a lot better system that rewards top performing teams in IPL League Phase.

Fleming retained for 3 more years

As a first step in building a new match-winning Chennai Super Kings team, Chennai Super Kings have signed Fleming as coach for 3 more years. So we are sure to see Dhoni-Fleming Combo for  a few more years. Nice to see Fleming's commitment to the team. 

The team have also retained the support of Tommy Simsek, Gregory King and Steve Rickson. 

Now it is time for Fleming & Co. to pick the right team in the auction.