IPL 2019: 3 star players who can help Chennai Super Kings win the title this year

The Indian Premier League has seen big totals, huge sixes, classy boundaries, exciting chases, memorable hundreds and fast fifties. One of the vital byproducts of the league has been the making of skillful younger generation cricketers to the national side.

In the Indian Premier League, Chennai Super Kings have been one of the most pre-eminent teams. After being banned for a couple of seasons, they made a roaring comeback to emerge as champions in 2018.

In the history of the tournament, CSK has been the most successful side having won three titles and finishing as runners-up in four seasons. Also, the franchise has qualified for the playoffs in all the nine editions of the tournament in which it has taken part.

In the 2019 IPL Auction, CSK retained most of their players from the previous season and bought only Mohit Sharma and Ruturaj Gaekwad for 5 crores and 20 lakhs respectively which has always been a hallmark of the CSK side which is to stick with the core they have formed from the start.

Here, we take a look at the three players from their squad who can help Chennai Super Kings defend the IPL trophy this season:

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#1 Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is arguably the most renowned captain in the history of the IPL. In the 2018 IPL, MSD had an excellent season for CSK both with the bat and behind the wickets. The veteran skipper scored 455 runs in 16 matches at an outstanding strike rate of 150.67. He was the third highest run-scorer for the franchise behind Ambati Rayudu and Shane Watson in the previous season and led the Chennai Super Kings to their third title.

Captain cool's form with the bat along with his shrewd captaincy is going to be very vital if Chennai Super Kings is going to defend its title successfully. The fans will definitely look forward to his lightning-fast hands behind the wickets, aggressive batting, and innovative captaincy when he steps on the field.

#2 Ambati Rayudu

Fortunes changed last year, will he keep up with the standards this year?

Ambati Rayudu can be considered as one of the most unfortunate players born in this era. Once considered as the "Next Big Thing" in Indian cricket, his fortune changed for worse when he joined the defunct ICL.

However, 2018 season of the Indian Premier League, saw his fortune change for good. He moved to the Chennai Super Kings after plying his trade with Mumbai Indians from 2010-2017. Ambati Rayudu was the utility man for CSK and played in multiple positions during the tournament and amassed 602 runs in 16 matches at an exceptional average of 43.01 and at a strike-rate of 149.76 last season.

His aggressive batting performance at the top order can push the pressure back on the opposition and the added motivation of booking a ticket to the World Cup can work in favor of CSK.

#3 Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina is the most consistent player in the tournament's history

Suresh Raina has been one of the key players of CSK right from the inaugural season of IPL. He was picked up for $650,000 by CSK in the very first auction and has more than fulfilled fan's expectations ever since. In the Indian Premier League, he holds the record for being the top run-scorer with 4985 runs in 176 matches.

In the 2010 IPL, Suresh Raina scored 520 runs at an amazing average of 47.37 and particularly his knock of 56 runs in the finals against Mumbai helped Chennai win that season. In the 2011 IPL season, Raina scored 438 runs which were vital in CSK defending their title.

After returning back to CSK in 2018, the southpaw scored 445 runs in 15 matches at an average of 37.18 and will be expected to deliver great performances with bat and ball to help CSK defend their title again.