MS Dhoni will lead the CSK team against MI in IPL 2020 opening match on September 19.
CSK will face off against Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener in Abu Dhabi and it will mark MS Dhoni’s return to top-flight cricket after more than a year’s time.
While analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of CSK, Aakash Chopra said MS Dhoni continues to be an influential figure and is the life and soul of the franchise at IPL 2020.
"MS Dhoni is the biggest strength of the team. The entire franchise is dependent on him. He is the soul of Chennai Super Kings. As long as he is there, CSK's heart keeps beating and they move forward. MS Dhoni, the player, and the captain has a great impact," Aakash Chopra said in his latest YouTube show.
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"MS Dhoni, the batsman, we haven't seen him in a long while. There are questions as to whether he will be able to hit the ground running or bat the way he used to in the past. Keep in mind, he is very experienced, and you don't get experience in the supermarket. This team, as I said before... Dhoni is the life and soul of this team. He is the one who is going to get the best out of everyone,” Chopra added.
He said the 39-year-old Dhoni, who doesn’t have the pressure of international cricket, will be the toast of IPL 2020. "MS Dhoni, the batsman, is important because when spin takes precedence, his influence will grow. He may not hit the ground running, but as the tournament progresses, I am pretty sure MS Dhoni is going to rule the roost,” Chopra said.
Furthermore, Chopra said that the Chennai Super Kings have the best all-round bowling attack and their core group of Indian batsmen is going to hold them in good stead when spin dominates in the UAE.
“Their second strength is the spin department. They have the like Mitchell Santner, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, and Piyush Chawla. When you have 5 spinners of this calibre, you can play 2-3 together whenever you want. And in the UAE, when spinners become more important, that's when they will come to the fore,” Chopra mentioned.
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"Their spin bowling department, even when you take the all-around bowling attack, they have very quality. When it comes to the all-round bowling attack, CSK is at the No. 1 spot.”
"When you talk about weaknesses, there's not much. But when you look at it closely, they have been out of competitive cricket for a while. Eventually, it catches up with you. We saw it happen with Shane Watson last year. The likes of Dhoni, Vijay, Jadhav haven't played competitive cricket in a long while. That could be a weakness," Chopra said.