IPL 2019: CSK's strongest playing XI, in the absence of Ngidi, to face RCB 

The Chennai Super Kings have been dealt a huge blow to their title hopes as star overseas pacer Lungi Ngidi has been ruled out of the tournament with a Grade 2 muscle strain leaving CSK without enough bite in their pace bowling attack. While a suitable replacement is being searched, CSK isn't likely to field in the replacement player for the season opener against RCB.

MS Dhoni and co. would have had some plans with Ngidi in the side but without him, they may have to make a few alterations to their team combination based on the pitch as well as this situation.

CSK will take on RCB on 23rd March 2019 at 8:00 pm at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. While CSK has been struck by this injury, RCB won't have the services of Nathan Coulter-Nile and Marcus Stoinis due to international duty.

So without further ado, let's take a look at CSK's strongest playing XI in the absence of Lungi Ngidi.

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Openers: Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu

Watson and Rayudu will want to set a platform for the chase

CSK's opening pair is likely to remain the same throughout the season no matter what the circumstance is. Ambati Rayudu and Shane Watson scored a combined 1160 runs last season and both of them were in the top 10 run-getters list and this meant a huge boost at the top for CSK.

Watson doesn't have the weight of international cricket on him and is a much more dangerous player considering the amount of T20 cricket he has played and the experience he has garnered. He hasn't bowled much in other T20 leagues, though and with players like Kedar Jadhav returning, Watson's bowling burden may be removed.

Despite Virat Kohli's statement that IPL won't have bearing on World Cup selection, Rayudu has a lot to play for this season and the pressure of the World Cup spot will be on his mind. He seems a different player at the top order and the full strength of his confident stroke-making will be on display. If he stays long enough, Rayudu can help CSK post some really big totals on the board.

Middle Order: Suresh Raina, Kedar Jadhav and MS Dhoni (C, WK)

Dhoni and Raina sharing a lighter moment

The Chennai Super Kings middle-order is one of the strongest in the entire league and it consists of three very experienced and flamboyant Indian batsmen.

Suresh Raina is expected to slot in at No. 3 and he'll want to make some runs right from the onset of this season after an average outing last time. The crowd will be behind "Chinna Thala" as he's affectionately called and against RCB, Raina will want to do something special for the CSK fans after his failure against KKR last season.

Kedar Jadhav spells well for CSK because this provides a lot of flexibility to CSK's batting. Both MS Dhoni and Jadhav can be used as floaters and their positions interchanged as per circumstances just like on the international platform. Also, Jadhav's slingy off-break is also at his best with Dhoni behind the stumps and you can be assured that Dhoni will get a couple of overs out of his golden arm on a slow Chennai track.

Dhoni walking out to bat will be the dream come true for most of the fans who have battled their way out to secure the match tickets. He has looked in good touch ahead of this season and last season saw the return of Dhoni as he scored 477 runs with 3 50+ scores, an average of 77 and a strike-rate north of 150.

All-Rounders: Dwayne Bravo, David Willey and Ravindra Jadeja

This will be a great opportunity for David Willey to shine

This is where most of the changes are set to occur for CSK. With Lungi Ngidi out, CSK needs another pace bowling option to fill in and it's most likely to be English all-rounder David Willey.

He's one of the best T20 all-rounders in the world right now and impressed a lot against West Indies playing for England. He's very good with the new ball and has a lot of variations which he can use at the death. He's a clean striker of the ball and can be used as a pinch-hitter at the top or as a No. 6 or No. 7 batsman depending on the situation.

MSD will hope that Dwayne Bravo comes good this season after that mishap with the ball in last season. Despite picking up 15 wickets, Bravo leaked runs at the death more than any other CSK bowler and his famed death bowling was torn apart by batsmen. He has had a rejuvenated time in other T20 leagues and CSK fans will be hoping that he can bring back his heroics from past seasons.

Ravindra Jadeja will be of extreme importance in this slow Chennai track in the season opener. He has had the number of Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers in the past and will want to extend his successful record against the RCB star batsmen. Jadeja is more of a spinner for CSK than an all-rounder as his ability with the bat has considerably reduced. Still, with Dhoni, you never know what's going to happen but Jadeja needs to fire with the bat too at some point this season.

Spinner: Imran Tahir

Imran Tahir is a bundle of energy for CSK

Due to Jadeja's presence in the team, CSK will want to hold off Mitchell Santner, the Kiwi all-rounder and this means an opportunity for Imran Tahir to weave his magic. The Proteas isn't a part of South Africa's last 2 T20Is and will be available for selection for CSK before the match versus RCB.

Tahir has been in top form ahead of this season and has picked up wickets at will for South Africa. On a track which supports spinners a lot and two overseas pacers already in the lineup, CSK will want to play Tahir and get the most out of him.

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Fast Bowlers: Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur

Thakur was a bit expensive but managed to pick up wickets last season

Picking their fast bowlers will be CSK's biggest conundrum ahead of the first game.

They have three quality Indian pacers in Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur and returning hero Mohit Sharma who they signed for ₹5 crore at the auction.

Out of the three, Deepak Chahar picks himself as he's a wizard with the new ball and can scalp a few early wickets and needs to be there in Ngidi's absence.

Out of Mohit and Thakur, CSK should go with Thakur because he was very impressive with the ball last season and was CSK's best bowler last season picking up 16 wickets and beating the likes of Jadeja and Bravo. Also, Thakur has more pace and will be able to bowl more effectively at the death than Mohit.

Though Mohit can be a good differential under Dhoni, he isn't quick enough and the ball will just sit up waiting to be hit if he errs very slightly with the length and it's best that CSK go with their two stars from last season for this match.