Dhoni makes way for Gaikwad as defending champions CSK return with a distinct NZ flavour

MS Dhoni's men won their fifth IPL title on the third day of a T20 final against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad to draw level with Mumbai Indians.

MS Dhoni (wk), Aravelly Avanish (wk), Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Mandal, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Nishant Sindhu, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Choudhary, Mustafizur Rahman, Matheesha Pathirana, Simarjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki, Shardul Thakur, Maheesh Theekshana, Sameer Rizvi

Devon Conway, the New Zealand wicketkeeper-opener, has been ruled out of the IPL until May with a thumb injury. Shivam Dube, who missed the Ranji Trophy knockouts with a side strain, has been undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. It remains to be seen if he is fit to start the tournament for CSK on March 22.

Matheesha Pathirana will miss the initial stages of the tournament with a hamstring injury. ESPNcricinfo has learned that Pathirana is likely to be unavailable for at least two weeks and will travel to the IPL only after getting clearance from SLC medical staff.

Mustafizur Rahman has been permitted by the BCB to play IPL 2024 between March 22 and May 11. He might leave the league early to prepare for the T20 World Cup with Bangladesh's tour of the USA.

On the eve of the season opener, Ruturaj Gaikwad was unveiled as CSK's new captain, with MS Dhoni handing over the keys to the kingdom.

After having released Ben Stokes and Dwaine Pretorius, CSK added New Zealand's ODI World Cup heroes, Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell, to their side. Ravindra can directly slot in at the top, in place of the injured Conway, and bowl quickish left-arm fingerspin, which gives CSK the option to also include Mitchell in the XI ahead of Moeen Ali. CSK also broke the bank to acquire Sameer Rizvi, who was strong against spin in the UP T20 league and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

At the auction in December last year, CSK also snapped up Mustafizur as a back-up for Sri Lanka slinger Pathirana. Plus, Shardul Thakur returns to CSK after two seasons.

Considering the potentially slow pitches at Chepauk, Dhoni and Stephen Fleming have built another squad that has a number of spin-hitters, spin bowlers, and batting depth all the way down to No.10 or No.11 Remember, Tushar Deshpande scored a career-best 123 from No.11 for Mumbai in the Ranji quarter-final against Baroda?

Even the CSK newbies, Ravindra and Mitchell, have the game and temperament to counter spin, like they showed during the ODI World Cup in India last year. Maheesh Theekshana (mystery spin), Moeen Ali (offspin), Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Nishant Sindhu, Ajay Mandal (left-arm fingerspin), and Prashant Solanki (legspin) tick off most varieties of spin in the attack. Mustafizur's offcutters could also prove effective, especially if the pitches wear on.

Deepak Chahar will rock up cold, having not played a competitive game since December 2023. Mukesh Choudhary and Simarjeet Singh are on a longer road back from injury and rehab. Neither seamer has played a competitive match since December 2022.

Opener Gaikwad, meanwhile, has just recovered from a finger injury. He has played only one competitive game so far this year. Dhoni himself is coming off a knee surgery.

Ajinkya Rahane's recent form is patchy: he managed only 214 runs in 13 innings in the Ranji Trophy at an average of 17.83. His numbers weren't flash either in the Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali tournaments.

CSK will start their season with back-to-back home games at Chepauk, against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Titans. They will then travel to Vizag to face Delhi Capitals on March 31 and Hyderabad to meet Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 5. The schedule for the second half of the tournament is expected once the Election Commission of India reveals the dates of the national elections, which are expected to take place in the months of April and May.