Big Picture

One of the untold stories in MS Dhoni's authorised biopic is his stint with Chennai Super Kings and the controversies that culminated in a two-year suspension for the franchise. CSK are back now and enter IPL 2018 with Dhoni, who led them to back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011, still at the helm. He may no longer be the India captain, but he's still CSK's thala (leader).

While Dhoni did not attend the 2018 player auction, lots about the squad has his stamp: several tried-and-tested IPL performers who have played with and against Dhoni, many of whom haven't been in their national sides for a while.

Have CSK been too conservative though? They have 11 players over 30, and by the time this cycle of three-year contracts ends Imran Tahir and Harbhajan Singh will be over 40. They had an average age of 33 after the first day of the auction in January, and then they bought eight uncapped players to complete their quota of 25 on the second. That CSK had INR 6.5 crore left in their purse at the end of the auction indicated that they chose not to go aggressively after a sought after power-hitter or allrounder.

M Vijay, in his current avatar, and Faf du Plessis are accumulators at best, and though Shane Watson hit form in the BBL and PSL, a sluggish start could increase pressure on Suresh Raina and Dhoni. They have lots of spin options but the seam attack looks thin. Can Dhoni recreate the old magic with this Jekyll-Hyde side?

The good

If an IPL Hall of Fame was to be instituted, Raina would be among the first entrants. He comes into this season on the back of an India recall. Both in South Africa and Sri Lanka, he showed glimpses of his fierce ball-striking abilities. However, the consensus among many was that he was trying to manufacture too many strokes.

That Raina made an India comeback after more than a year was down to his form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: 314 runs in nine T20 innings at a strike rate of nearly 150. In his most recent IPL stint with Gujarat Lions, Raina struck 311 runs off 219 balls at a strike-rate of 142 in the Powerplay. So if the openers fail, CSK still have an attacking No. 3.

The clock may be ticking on Dhoni the T20I finisher, but he still continues to be effective in the end overs. In the past two IPL seasons, Dhoni scored 358 runs off 220 balls for Rising Pune Supergiant at a strike-rate of 163 between overs 16 and 20. It remains to be seen whether he still has those skills this season.

Dwayne Bravo: the first man to take 400 T20 wickets. What's more special is that nearly half of Bravo's T20 wickets - 203 out of 413 - have come during the last four overs of an innings, a record.

These three limited-overs stalwarts will once again have to be CSK's driving force.

The bad

The absence of an experienced new-ball bowler could prove crucial. Shardul Thakur has become an India international and is skilful, but can he deliver under pressure consistently? The same question can be asked of Rajasthan's Deepak Chahar too. Then, there is the next layer of uncapped pacers in KM Asif, Kanishk Seth, Kshitiz Sharma, and Monu Kumar Singh, none of whom have played an IPL yet. Mark Wood and Lungi Ngidi have pace, but are untested in Indian conditions.

To add to their worries, Chahar and Wood are injury-prone, and Mitchell Santner, who was in sparkling form in New Zealand's ODI series against England, has been ruled out of the entire tournament because of a knee surgery.

The overseas question

With Bravo and Tahir likely to be certainties, CSK might have to choose between Watson and du Plessis to partner Vijay at the top. This could also mean a toss-up between Ngidi and Wood for one seam-bowling slot. They won't have to worry about Wood's availability until much later in the competition. There is a possibility of him returning to England during the playoffs should he be picked for the Test series against Pakistan.

The plan

Simple: Prepare turners and let their spinners loose. They have two wristspinners in Tahir and Karn Sharma, two fingerspinners in Ravindra Jadeja and Harbhajan Singh. In addition, Bravo thrives on slower offcutters and legcutters, while Raina and Kedar Jadhav can also pitch in with their offbreaks.

Possible starting XI: 1 Shane Watson/Faf du Plessis, 2 M Vijay, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Kedar Jadhav, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Harbhajan Singh/Karn Sharma, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Imran Tahir, 11 Lungi Ngidi/Mark Wood

The brains

Stephen Fleming (head coach), Michael Hussey (batting coach), L Balaji (bowling coach), Eric Simmons (bowling consultant), Tommy Simsek (physiotherapist).

Will they make the playoffs?

Expect CSK to make a familiar late dash to the playoffs.