Chennai Super Kings will lean on their formidable spin strength under favourable conditions at the Chepauk as well as recent record against Mumbai Indians sans Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, when the two sides face each other in their Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign opener in Chennai on Sunday. Five-time winners CSK augmented their spin attack in the IPL mega auction last year by including Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad Shreyas Gopal and Deepak Hooda, with India veteran Ravindra Jadeja also in the mix.
CSK's pre-season moves indicate how the spin-friendly conditions at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here could be a major factor in their game plan. Starting their season against an equally formidable opponent in Mumbai Indians, this strategy could well deliver the goods right from the beginning.
For CSK, MS Dhoni will be the cynosure of all eyes once again, having remained with the team since the inception of the IPL in 2008.
On the other hand, the absence of India bowling spearhead Bumrah could be acutely felt in the MI ranks as the right-arm pacer remains on a comeback trail from a back-related issue which has kept him sidelined so far this year.
Bumrah is expected to miss the initial stages of this IPL and his absence will leave MI without their lethal weapon in the death overs, presenting the management with a headache to work with other options and strategies.
MI will also be without regular skipper Pandya for this clash as the India all-rounder serves a one-match ban for the team's slow over-rate in their final league match last year.
But for a team which has no dearth of leadership options, MI will have India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav leading them in their tournament opener and important away clash.
CSK face a healthy selection conundrum for the opening slot with one among the two Kiwis, Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway, set to partner skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad at the top.
The middle order is set to feature the likes of Rahul Tripathi, Shivam Dube, Hooda and Vijay Shankar, followed by Dhoni and Jadeja.
Among the favourable factors is CSK's recent record of four wins in their last five matches over Mumbai Indians including three victories in last as many games.
Pandya's appointment as MI skipper, replacing Rohit Sharma, heavily marred the five-time IPL winners' campaign last season where they had finished at the bottom. The squad looks well settled now after the turmoils of last season.
Even though Ishan Kishan's exit has left a void at the top, the explosive South African wicketkeeper Ryan Rickelton can be expected to match Rohit's firepower at the top, followed by India batting mainstays Suryakumar and Tilak Varma in the middle.
While MI will have to wait to field their desired fast bowling attack which comprises a mix of veterans in Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar and Reece Topley and Bumrah, the presence of Corbin Bosch makes things interesting as to how their think tank is able to use their resources optimally.
Former CSK frontman Mitchell Santner's experience and knowledge of conditions at Chepauk is likely to come in handy along with Karn Sharma and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
Sunday's contest between CSK and MI could also give some impressions of how the ball-change rule in the second innings plays out.
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Shaik Rasheed, Vansh Bedi (wk), C Andre Siddharth, Rachin Ravindra, Ravichandran Ashwin, Vijay Shankar, Sam Curran, Anshul Kamboj, Deepak Hooda, Jamie Overton, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal, Matheesha Pathirana.
Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (c), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Robin Minz, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Shrijith Krishnan (wk), Bevon Jacobs, Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Will Jacks, Mitchell Santner, Raj Angad Bawa, Vignesh Puthur, Corbin Bosch, Trent Boult, Karn Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Ashwani Kumar, Reece Topley, VS Penmetsa, Arjun Tendulkar, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Jasprit Bumrah.
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