IPL 2019 PREVIEW: Defending champions Chennai Super Kings all set to be a major presence once again

As they head off in pursuit of their fourth Indian Premier League crown, CSK have an array of riches to choose from

Captain: MS Dhoni

Coach: Stephen Fleming

Overseas players: Imran Tahir, Sam Billings, David Willey, Faf du Plessis, Lungi Ngidi, Dwayne Bravo, Mitchell Santner, Shane Watson

Titles: 3 (2010, 2011, 2018)

2018 performance: Champions

IPL FIXTURES

Best performance: Champions (2010, 2011, 2018)

In: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mohit Sharma

Out: Mark Wood, Kanishk Seth, Kshitiz Sharma

Star player: Shane Watson (T20 Player Index: 4th)

Biggest loss: Mark Wood

^{Shane Watson is a crucial member of the CSK side}

Form

After a two-year suspension due to illegal IPL betting, Chennai made quite the comeback when they romped their way to an emphatic victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in last year's final – thanks to a belligerent knock of 117 not out from Shane Watson.

The Super Kings have never failed to progress past the group stage and have been runners-up four times as well as title winners three times, meaning they have the best record of any IPL team.

Strengths

The Super Kings have a good all-round side and their squad boasts players rich in T20 experience.

There are plenty of bowling options – no express pace but a good variety of seam and spin that ought to help restrict opposition teams to achievable totals.

The batting is strong too, and with Dhoni in the side it will be a challenge to keep Chennai under control.

IPL SQUADS

Weaknesses

With a team this strong, there is a good chance that Chennai will be able to defend their title this year and there are no obvious weaknesses.

They have an almost identical squad to last year but there might be increased pressure on the star players to perform and keep the winning streak.

Sam Billings is part of the squad

Squad: Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Faf du Plessis, Dhruv Shorey, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Kedar Jadhav, Murali Vijay, Ravindra Jadeja, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Shane Watson, Karn Sharma, Dwayne Bravo, David Willey, MS Dhoni, Narayan Jagadeesan, Sam Billings, Lungi Ngidi, Monu Kumar, KM Asif, Harbhajan Singh, Shardul Thakur, Mitchell Santner, Mohit Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir

Prediction: Runners-up

Initial fixtures: March 23 - Royal Challengers Bangalore (h); March 26 - Delhi Capitals (a); March 31 - Rajasthan Royals (h); April 3 - Mumbai Indians (a)