Chennai Super Kings (CSK) take on Royal Chllengers Bangalore (RCB) in the opening game of IPL 2024 on March 22 at the MA Chidambaram stadium. This could be the last IPL for their captain MS Dhoni, who will turn 43 in July this year. Dhoni won CSK record-equalling fifth trophy in 2023 when they beat Gujarat Titans (GT). It was Ravindra Jadeja who hit the winning runs for CSK in that final and as a gift, he did not only receive the trophy but also a warm, tight hug from his captain.

Also Read | KKR Captain Shreyas Iyer Likely To Miss IPL 2024’s First Phase Due To Same Back Injury Which Ruled Him Out Of 2023 Season

CSK have received a huge blow ahead of the competition as their opener Devon Conway has injured his thumb. He has undergone a small surgery and is likely to miss some games in the season. It would be interesting to see who replaces him at the top of the batting order. One of the contenders is Rachin Ravindra, who is also a New Zealand cricketer, and had a terrific time in World Cup which was played in India in 2023.

Living the semma life! ___#WhistlePodu @snj10000 @BritishEmpireOf pic.twitter.com/UDZwOdm1Tu
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) March 14, 2024

It would be interesting to see how some of the CSK batters perform. While Ruturaj Gaiwad, both Ravindras (Rachin and Jadeja), and other current international stars are playing well and are in form, one cannot say the same for the likes of Ajinkya Rahane and MS Dhoni. Rahane was in poor form throughout the Ranji Trophy. Dhoni does not play cricket throughout the year and began batting only a month back. CSK do have a strong squad at their disposal but what is required is firing collectively. 

CSK CEO Kasi Viswanath said that the team, like always, targets winning league games and qualify for the playoffs. From there, it is anyone’s game.

Check Full Squad and announced schedule of CSK below:     

CSK Squad

Batters: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed

Wicketkeepers: MS Dhoni (c), Devon Conway (could be out due to injury, no official word yet), Avanish Rao Aravelly*

All-rounders: Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Nishant Sindhu, Ajay Mandal, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Rachin Ravindra*, Daryl Mitchell*, Sameer Rizvi*

Bowlers: Deepak Chahar, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh, Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande, Prashant Solanki, Shardul Thakur*, Mustafizur Rahman*

CSK schedule for IPL 2024, only the first 21 matches of IPL 2024 have been announced so far:

Match 1: Chennai Super Kings v Royal Challengers Bangalore, Friday, March 22, 8pm, Chennai

Match 7: Chennai Super Kings v Gujarat Titans, Tuesday, March 26, 7.30pm, Chennai

Match 13: Delhi Capitals v Chennai Super Kings, Sunday, March 31, 7.30pm, Vizag

Match 18: Sunrisers Hyderabad v Chennai Super Kings, Friday, April 5, 7.30pm, Hyderabad

(Note: BCCI announced schedule for only first two weeks of IPL 2024. Full schedule will be announced after Election Commission announced Lok Sabha Chunav Dates. This list will be updated accordingly).