IPL 2019: 3 noteworthy captains in Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings is one of those teams which prefer experience over youth. As of now, they do not appear to care if their players growing years will affect them in the long run or not. They just have one goal in mind, and that is to win the IPL trophy.

Their head coach Stephen Fleming commented on the IPL 11 auctions by saying, "I'm not here to develop young players, I'm here to try and win the competition for the franchise. And that's why we value experience because we think that gives us the best chance."

By taking this into account, it is evident that the team might be looking mostly for experienced players in the future. This strategy helped them in the previous edition of the IPL as they won the tournament. Although they prefer experience over youth, CSK are still very picky with whom they bid for in the auctions and are not swayed merely by the previous reputation of a player.

Everyone wanted them to bid for Yuvraj Singh in the IPL 12 auctions but they did not bid for him. The seasoned campaigner Manoj Tiwary had no bidders in the auction and still, CSK did not attempt to buy him.

This shows that Chennai has specific criteria for signing their players. One particular skill they expect from their players is that they need to have the traits of a leader.

From Shane Watson to Narayan Jagadeesan, most of the players in their squad have captained a domestic or an international team at least sparingly.

Here are three noteworthy captains in their squad apart from MS Dhoni whose skills would be vital for CSK in IPL 2019.

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3. Faf Du Plessis

Faf du Plessis

Faf du Plessis may not stay with CSK for the entire duration of the IPL. He, like many other players, has the World Cup in his sights and would be ready to leave the cash-rich tournament midway. du Plessis would also want the management to bench him often as it would be good for him before the upcoming World Cup.

Even if he plays very few matches for them he would still prove to be useful for the side. Du Plessis had been around with CSK for a while and he knows what exactly the think tank's needs are. His strategic advice would be vital for them.

Plus a player like du Plessis doesn't need to play many matches to get into the groove. He can come into the playing XI anytime and make an instant impact. During the first qualifier of IPL 11, Chennai was on a verge of losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad but the South African captain's knock of 67 handed Chennai Super Kings the win.

If it wasn't for du Plessis adding 47.86% to their total in the qualifier match, CSK wouldn't have made it to the finals easily.

2.Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan played for Mumbai Indians in CLT20 against CSK

Harbhajan Singh was roped in by Chennai Super Kings at the IPL 11 auction. The choice left the CSK fans startled. They expected local boy Ravichandran Ashwin to be bought back to the Chennai setup but instead, they got the Turbanator from Punjab.

Harbhajan played a key role in CSK's title victory. His leadership experience proved to be vital. To those who don't know, Bhajji had been a former Mumbai Indians captain. He led the team for 20 matches and won ten of them.

The veteran had also been very precise in his decisions for them. He had won the toss 14 time as a captain and his decisions in the matches favored the team. Apart from the IPL, Mumbai Indians won the 2011 Champions League T20 title under his captaincy.

The 38-year old can assist the management's think tank to make crucial decisions in crunch situations.

1.Dwayne Bravo

Trinbago Knight Riders won CPL 2018 under Dwayne Bravo's captaincy

Dwayne Bravo will play for CSK until he decides to hang up his boots for good. This is due to his vast knowledge of the game. The former West Indies captain had played in most of the T20 leagues under the sun.

Be it the Australian Big Bash League, the Bangladesh Premier League, the Caribbean Premier League, the Mzansi Super League, Global T20 League - he's been there and played them all. As someone who possesses this caliber of T20 experience, Chennai would be clumsy to let him go.

Removing Bravo from the Chennai setup will certainly be doomsday for them. He has been with the Chennai based franchise since 2011. If there's anyone from the current squad who's capable of writing a book on how to defeat CSK, it could be Bravo - such is his knowledge about CSK

Apart from his T20 experiential knowledge, Bravo also knows what a trending team needs to do to reach and win the finals. His team Trinbago Knight Riders won CPL 2018 and Melbourne Stars reached the finals of BBL 2018/19.

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