Aakash Chopra has identified MS Dhoni as the Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) most valuable asset heading into IPL 2024.
With five IPL championships under his belt, Dhoni’s leadership for the Chennai team is unrivaled, on par only with Rohit Sharma. As he possibly approaches his farewell season, securing a historic sixth title is something he’ll surely aim for.
In a YouTube video, Chopra stated that the Chennai Super Kings’ greatest strength is their captain.
“The name of their biggest strength is MS Dhoni because this captain knows how to manage the team. He is the Don of cricket and his name is MS Dhoni. He has the Midas touch. Whatever he touches, turns into gold. He provides freedom to people.”
Aakash Chopra
The former India opener offered examples to demonstrate that Dhoni knows how to get the most out of his players.
“You suddenly saw the best of Dube, the best of Rahane – there are plenty of examples of players who have flourished under him. MS Dhoni is a very strong factor for me because a captain has a huge role in T20 cricket and you won’t get a bigger captain than him easily.”
Aakash Chopra
In IPL 2023, Shivam Dube and Ajinkya Rahane delivered outstanding performances for CSK. Dube, a left-handed batsman, amassed a commendable 418 runs in 14 innings, boasting a sparkling strike rate of 158.33. Rahane, a right-handed batter, managed to effortlessly crash 326 runs in just 11 innings, showcasing an even more remarkable strike rate of 172.48.
“The batting order is solid” – Aakash Chopra on CSK’s other strength
Aakash Chopra identified the Chennai Super Kings’ batting as their other strength, emphasizing that they have adequate backups in case Devon Conway is unavailable.
“The second strength I see in this team is that the batting order is solid. Ruturaj Gaikwad consistently scores runs at the top. If Devon Conway is not there, it could be Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra or Ajinkya Rahane.”
“You will see two of these three players playing, among whom Rahane will be confirmed and the other could be either Rachin or Daryl Mitchell. If they don’t wish to play Moeen Ali, both can also play.”
Aakash Chopra
The former cricket player, who is now a commentator, highlighted the abundance of all-rounders in CSK’s formation.
“Then you will see Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni. The team has batting depth and MS Dhoni showed last year that he is contributing as a batter. It’s a team filled with all-rounders.”
Aakash Chopra
Chopra finished by pointing out that the reigning champions had good batsmen up to No. 9, with seam-bowling all-rounders Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur also in the mix. He said that, with the exception of Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana, everyone can properly wield the willow.