Chennai Super Kings will begin their IPL 2023 campaign with a match against defending champions Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on March 31 – here’s their predicted XI for the match, along with tournament prediction, squad and schedule.
Chennai Super Kings are 8/1 to retain their IPL title with our Match Centre partners bet365. To bet on the outright market of the competition head here.
After winning their fourth IPL title in 2021, Chennai had a rude shock in 2022, when they finished ninth out of ten teams – their worst performance barring 2020, when they finished seventh out of eight teams.
Ahead of the 2023 auction, Dwayne Bravo and Robin Uthappa announced their retirements, while Chennai released Chris Jordan, Adam Milne, KM Asif, N Jagadeesan, C Hari Nishanth, and Bhagath Verma.
At the auction, the Super Kings acquired Ben Stokes (for INR 16.25 crore), Kyle Jamieson (INR 1 crore), Nishant Sindh (INR 60 lakh), Ajinkya Rahane (INR 50 lakh), and Shaik Rasheed (INR 20 lakh).
Chennai Super Kings squad at IPL 2023
(Overseas players underlined)
MS Dhoni (c & wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Shaik Rasheed, Subhranshu Senapati, Ben Stokes, Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Nishant Sandhu, Bhagath Verma, Ajay Mandal, Deepak Chahar, Sisanda Magala, Matheesha Pathirana, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki, Tushar Deshpande.
Chennai Super Kings schedule at IPL 2023: Click here for match timings
CSK in IPL 2023: Team news
A stress fracture in the back has ruled Jamieson out of IPL 2023 – and perhaps beyond. Chennai have replaced Jamieson with Sisanda Magala. Having impressed all and sundry in 2022, Mukesh Choudhary, too, is unlikely to start the season for them.
Sri Lanka’s tour of New Zealand will not get over until April 8. Chennai will, thus, miss the services of Matheesha Pathirana and Maheesh Theekshana for at least three matches. Ben Stokes, meanwhile, is unlikely to bowl in the early stages of the tournament.
Things are not looking good for Chennai at this point, but they will be playing half their league matches at Chepauk yet again – something they had not done since the global lockdown. They also have the batting depth to field a team without a rank tail-ender.
CSK probable XI for first game of IPL 2023
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ambati Rayudu, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar.
Chennai Super Kings: IPL 2023 prediction
Not among the top teams ahead of the tournament, the Chennai Super Kings will find it difficult to qualify for the Playoffs.
