Super King Dhoni had passed his sceptre to Prince Jadeja!!!

CSK's chapter in the IPL book is printed not just with raises and falls but also with victorious glories. 

'The four times champions' are the icons of IPL for more than one reason. The consistency, the perfection it brings on the table, turns and tornadoes in its flawless games, the twists in the climaxes, for being a dominating side in the pure youngsters' format even with the old warhorses, the vibration and the energy it brings in the field, for making the yellow the regional colour, for winning a fanbase which blindly believes it even if six runs are needed in the last ball, for being the masterminds and kings of strategies and on so many other basis.

Anyway, the present season's flavour and the fragrance are going to be slightly different as Super King Dhoni had passed his sceptre to Prince Jadeja. In the beginning, it might have sent shock in the veins of the fans of CSK and Dhoni. But they would have later realised that it is just the removal of the letter (C) after his name and his presence is going to be there with the team even in this season and interestingly it is also the transition phase of "Moulding the new captain" for carrying the legacy further. So, let us pause that discussion and move on to the possibilities and probabilities of team CSK to lift its fifth cup and equate the record of its rival!

CSK made a clever move by getting back most of the last season's players back to the squad. This will be a huge advantage as they can all get together as a team very easily. They are familiar with the dressing room culture and management's atmosphere too.

Let our focus be on the batting department first!

Just like last time, the quality and quantity of batters in CSK is quite amazing. The batting lineup is getting extended till the tail, which assembles them to be super strong. Most of the batters have rich experience and are known for playing under the pressure which runs in the pulses of IPL. If Last time's orange cap holder Gaikwad is inaugurating the destruction of bowling units, the mega destroyer Jadeja will be a butcher to slice the balls in the air mercilessly! Just like the earlier times, CSK can rewrite their inheritance of being chasing masters. The left-right combination, which extends till the last is also increasing the impeccability to the Nth power. Both Gaikwad and Devon Convay are capable of playing the anchor role which can maintain the stability of the team at some stage!

So, does it sound like the batting unit is ideal and faultless? Well! Even the batting department is having a few dents here and there which has to be corrected. CSK had lost one of its star starter, Faf du Plessis. He was the second leading run-scorer of last time. To compensate that Devon Convay was bought by them. Without any second thought, we can say he is a great player but one should not forget the fact that he is yet to be tested in Indian conditions. If he can carry on the patrimony of previous overseas openers like Hussey or Watson, then he can be a valuable asset for CSK for years to come. But, will it happen? 

One more thing of concern is both Gaikwad and Convay are not that great when facing pace. Last time, du Plessis and Gaikwad used to complement each other by taking turns to handle Pace and Spin respectively, so they could manage. But this time both of them are good at tackling spinners, not Speedsters. This is exactly the opposite of the complication of RCB which is lack of spin hitting batsmen. Gaikwad is also known for a slow start and then accelerating the innings, so If it leads to the less run rate in the powerplay overs, then CSK may be in real danger as this is what exactly happened a couple of years ago. 

If the openers cannot accelerate the innings in the beginning then that may lead to the commotion. Because Midas' touch Dhoni is in out of touch with cricket for the last few months so it is not sure how he will perform in this season. Along with that If Rayudu, Uthappa or any other players are having off days, the team may be in real trouble which will result in a burden on Jadeja, who is already carrying the pressure of playing the new role. So all these 'ifs' have to be considered as the negative points on the batting side and CSK may also have an eye on all these.

What about the bowling department? Is it set well?

The answer is YES and No. They have so many fast bowlers who can act both as powerplay and death over bowlers which is a big advantage. Just to acquire the service of Deepak Chahar, CSK was ready to sacrifice its own LORD Thakur and to their shock, Deepak's injury came as a big blow now. So they require an established local fast bowler. Rajvardhan can be the solution but he may be a problem too as he is new to this platform. So, it may lead to the need for the addition of one more overseas bowler and that can reduce a slot for the overseas batsman. But who knows, CSK may bring in KM Asif who can threaten with his speed of 140+km/hr. 

When coming to the spin department, Jadeja and Moeen Ali can be the pillars of support but again an extraordinary wrist spinner is missing in the crew. Prashant Solanki is the only available wrist-spinner of the team. 

So, the team's bowling unit is slightly weak. But for sure, they must be aware of it and will come up with alternative ideas and game plans.

The team is looking to be almost balanced and flexible other than for a few holes in the bowling department. Will it lead to disaster?

Hold on! Dhoni is still in the team and he always has solutions for all the problems!!!!!

Overall, Even though still it cannot be said whether this team can lift the trophy, for sure, one can say that this team will be in the finals, at least, in the playoffs! 

Hope it may go beyond that to lift the fifth trophy to level it 5/5 and make this Tom and Jerry game even more interesting.....