Mitchell Santner vs Maheesh Theekshana - who should start in the CSK XI for IPL 2024?

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will play their first match of IPL 2024 this Friday against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. These two franchises clashed in the opening game of IPL 2019 as well, where RCB got bowled out for just 70 runs in 17.1 overs.

CSK trapped the RCB batters in their spin web on that night at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh won the Man of the Match award in that game for his outstanding spell of 3/20 in four overs. Leg-spinner Imran Tahir also scalped three wickets for nine runs, while left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja bagged two wickets in his economical four-over spell.

Five years later, Jadeja still continues to be a part of the Chennai Super Kings team, but Harbhajan and Tahir have retired. Captain MS Dhoni would like to field three spinners in the team's opening game of IPL 2024 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Jadeja will be the lead spinner for Chennai this Friday. He will have the support of Rachin Ravindra, who should open the innings in Devon Conway's absence. Rachin can contribute with four overs of left-arm spin as well. Chennai may also prefer having Moeen Ali in the playing XI as their number three batter and an off-spin option.

The team's most expensive signing at the IPL 2024 Auction, Daryl Mitchell can be the third overseas player, but Mitchell bowls medium pace. With one more overseas spot vacant in the side, Chennai might prefer having another spin-bowling option.

MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming will have to choose one from Mitchell Santner and Maheesh Theekshana for that role. Both players are the lead spinners of their respective nations and have performed well for CSK in the IPL. In this article, we will try to determine which player should feature in the starting XI.

Why Maheesh Theekshana has a slight edge over Mitchell Santner in the race to CSK XI

As mentioned ahead, Chennai Super Kings will already have three spin-bowling options in their playing XI. All-rounders Rachin Ravindra and Ravindra Jadeja can bowl left-arm spin, while Moeen Ali can chip in with right-arm off-spin.

Maheesh Theekshana is a right-arm off-spin bowler, while Mitchell Santner bowls left-arm off-spin. Theekshana bowls his deliveries with pace. On the other side, Santner tries to give flight to his deliveries.

Maheesh Theekshana can be a game-changer for CSK in IPL 2024 (Image: Getty)

With two left-arm spinners already present in the playing XI, Chennai Super Kings should give Maheesh Theekshana a place in the team ahead of Mitchell Santner. Theekshana has played 22 matches for CSK in the last two years, scalping 23 wickets at an economy rate of 7.77. The Sri Lankan star can bowl in the powerplay as well as in the death overs, if needed.

Like the last few seasons, Santner will have to wait for his chance to play for Chennai. The Kiwi all-rounder is a much better fielder than Theekshana, but because of the team's combination, Santner will have to wait in all probability.