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Tuesday, April 8, 2008

IPL Chennai Super Kings Team

With no iconic player from this city, the Chennai Super Kings did an unthinkable job by being the highest bidder in the competition outplaying RIL’s Mumbai for M.S.Dhoni. With a good expertise of knowledge about the game in the city, it will surely be a crowd-puller in this part of the country. Even if they had chosen some other player as its icon, the Chennai team would have had the full support of its crowd. Rather I see that move only in the view of striking better sponsorship deals.

The Chennai Team was brought by Mr.Srinivasan (Also BCCI Office-Bearer) for USD 91 million, representing India Cements. The Team has been named as ” Chennai Super Kings “.


Jacob Oram - No doubt that he’s one of the best all-rounders in the current Cricket era. He has been an outstanding performer for New Zealand in the past few years. He is very well-known for his ability to strike the Cricket ball as clean as a whistle. He has played some breath-taking innings for his country (Still I remember his innings against Australia that he played at No.6). He’s also an equally good fielder. Can’t ask for a complete player like him. His experience could prove handy for the Chennai Super Kings. At USD 675,000, he’s such a note-worthy player. Look out Chennaites (If he’s available though). He’s a good finisher of the ranks o Chris Cairns.


Albie Morkel - He is from South Africa and is shaping up into a pretty good All-Rounder. Though his ability to hit the ball cleanly may look appealing, his ability to bowl quick and extract good bounce can’t be let alone. In his short International tenure, he has done well to capture the hearts of people with his ability. At USD 675,000, Chennai Super Kings of a Bowler who can trouble the Batsmen with his pace and bounce. Be careful, don’t ever under-estimate his ability with the Bat.


Suresh Raina - Ex-Indian Coach Greg Chapple regarded him as one of the best players in the country. He is electric in the field. His batting is also flawless. He can play the dual role of re-building the innings as well as shifting gears to up the tempo. He is also a handy Off-Spinner and can be quite effective in stemming the run-flow. His ability to play both spin and pace with sheer command makes him one of the most talented youngsters in the Indian Cricket. At USD 650,000, the Chennai Super Kings have made sure that they have an electrifying Multi-Utility player in their ranks who can last the entire season.


Muttiah Muralidaran - The name speaks for itself. One of the living legends of the game and with the leading test wickets under his belt, the Chennai Super Kings have done a good job securing him. His experience could prove very crucial. T20 format will be challenging for Murali too. But he’s the one who enjoys challenges and would love to dominate the Batsmen even in this format. He’s being paid USD 600,000 for his stint here. Wake up youngsters, make the most of him.


Matthew Hayden - Probably one of the finest openers that the game has seen, he is not afraid of playing his shots. He boasts of holding the record for the fastest century in World Cup history. He can prove very dangerous at the top and can turn the tables single handedly. He’s also a very good fielder despite his build and age. At USD 375,000, Chennai Super Kings have struck a perfect deal.


Stephen Fleming - He is one of the good guys of International Cricket and has already announced his retirement at the Internationa level. He is one of the most influencing personalities on the field. He is a specialist at the slips and is also the most experienced Captain at the big stage. Again his experience could be very handy and he alongside Matty Hayden can tear apart any opposition on a given day. With the experience he brings in, he’s worth every penny of USD 350,000 that the Chennai Super Kings are paying him.


Michael Hussey - One of the most consistent players in the current generation of Cricketers. He’s aptly called Mr.Cricket for his consistency.He’s a very solid player and can play dual role, either consolidate the line up when the top order fails or play aggressively. He’s also pretty good inside the circle. He will be a tricky customer to bowl to.He’s very good against the quicker bowlers.The Chennai Super Kings have signed a decent deal with him priced at USD 350,000.


Parthiv Patel - He is one of the upcoming talents in Indian Cricket. He cam into the International scene quite briskly and left with the same pace because of his improper work behind the stumps. But he has come quite a long way from there on. He has become all the more improved player and has started to play some quick-fire scintilating knocks. At USD 325,000 Chennai Super Kings have ensured that they have aback up for M.S.Dhoni who is quite capable behind the stumps and also with the Bat.


Joginder Sharma - He was a member of the victorious Indian T20 team and he was the one who bowled the last over against both, Australia and Pakistan. He did well to take up the responsibilty then. He’s looked at as an All-Rounder. But he has a lot to prove at this level. Still a rookie. That can work in his favour as there won’t be too much pressure on him. Chennai Super Kings have done well to get him at USD 225,000 and will surely exploit his plus points in due course which would benefit him also.


Makhaya Ntini - This South African Player has performed very well in many crunch situations. Everyone knows about his ability with the ball. He’ll provide the fire power that we need with the ball. He is very good either opening or at the death overs.He’s a cool customer and can keep the Batsman hoping on any surface. At USD 200,000 you can’t ask for more.


Mahendra Singh Dhoni - He’s the new face of Indian Cricket and he is the highest paid player in the IPL tournament. He’s been paid a whomping USD 1.5 million for his appearance in the matches. He should make sure to convert those apperances into stunning performances. He has improved his game behind the stumps and has grown more mature these days. If given proper starts by the top order, you can count on him to make sure that the oponents are torn to pieces. He brings this Multi-Dimension into the team. As far as I’m concerned I still feel that its quite a gamble. Whatever be the scenario, he’ll surely bring in fans and also sponsors along. Well planned Chennai Kings.

Kepler Wessels (Former South African Captain) is all set to done the role of the Coach of the Chennai Super Kings team. The team looks quite balanced on paper. All of them are proven performers and you can put your money on this team for some breath-taking performances. The team is estimated at USD 96,925,000. The fans will back this team and they have to perform accordingly to satisfy this Cricket crazy Metropolitan.

India Cements Limited (ICL), franchisee of the Chennai Indian Premier League (IPL) team, unveiled the logo for the team today and named the team as "Chennai Super Kings: Fearless Entertainers who will play to win".

The function held in Chennai witnessed the presence of veteran Indian cricketers like Sivaramakrishnan, W. V Raman and Chandrasekar.

During the function, former Indian captain Krishnamachary Srikkanth was named as the brand ambassador of the team.

Speaking on the occasion, Srikkanth said, "I am very happy that ICL had taken over Chennai Super Kings team. It's a great feeling to be a brand ambassador. Chennai have knowledgeable cricketers and so Super Kings will be a lovely team."

The owner of the team reiterated faith in his team's caliber to deliver the best.

"We want a solid team. We have been in cricket running teams for the last 40 years and we have won local championships many times so we have experience and will get a good blend," said N. Srinivasan, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, ICL.

Over 80 international cricketers are expected to feature in a player "auction" in Mumbai on Wednesday with each franchise allowed a cap of 5 million dollars.

The eight franchises, who spent over 718 million dollars to get the team rights, will be present at the auction.

They are Mumbai team (Mukesh Ambani), Bangalore (Vijay Mallya), Kolkata (Shah Rukh Khan), Chandigarh (Preity Zinta), Jaipur (Emerging Media), Hyderabad (Deccan Chronicle), Chennai (India Cements) and Delhi (GMR Group).

While each team will be allowed to register a maximum of eight foreign players, only four will be able to play in the XI.

Which team do you support ?