Chennai Super Kings have been the second most successful team in the history of the IPL if you talk about the no. of trophies.
However, if you talk about sheer consistency, then CSK is right at the top because there has not been a single season of the IPL where CSK has participated and has not qualified for the playoffs.
One of the main reasons behind the consistency of CSK is their core group. They have had a core group of players for many years now and it’s that core group which forms the heart and soul of the CSK squad.
Here are the top 5 players of Chennai Super Kings –
#1 MS Dhoni
When you talk about CSK, it’s almost mandatory to start with MS Dhoni. He has not only been the greatest captain in the history of the IPL arguably, he has probably been the greatest wicket-keeper batsman in the league as well.
Dhoni has scored 4432 runs for CSK in 190 games at an average of 42.20 and a strike rate of 137.85. He has also captained CSK to three IPL trophies,
#2 Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina has been Dhoni’s deputy at CSK for a long time and has had a huge role to play in the success of CSK over the years.
Raina is currently the second highest run-scorer in the history of the IPL and is the only CSK player who has scored more than 5000 runs in the IPL.
Raina, with a total of 38 fifties so far, also holds the record of scoring the most number of IPL fifties among all the Indian batsmen.
#3 Ravindra Jadeja
Ravindra Jadeja is one of the very few players in the IPL who have completed the double of 1500 runs and 100 wickets.
He is not only one of the finishers for CSK with the bat, he is one of their specialist spinners as well and bowls the complete quota of 4 overs in most of the games.
Jadeja has scored a total of 1927 runs in the IPL so far, to go with his 108 wickets.
#4 Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravinchandran Ashwin is not a part of the CSK set-up anymore, but he played for CSK for a decent amount of time and was hugely successful for them.
Ashwin was the vital cog in the CSK bowling line-up during two of their title winning campaigns in 2010 and 2011 respectively.
Chris Gayle’s dismissal off the bowling of Ashwin in the final of IPL 2011 went a long way in turning that game in CSK’s favor.
#5 Dwayne Bravo
Dwayne Bravo is also someone who has scored more than 1000 runs and has taken more than 100 wickets in the IPL. He is in the twilight of his career now, but is still a very bankable option with the ball for the CSK captain MS Dhoni.
Even during the last season of the IPL, Bravo bowled game changing spells in a couple of games. The Caribbean veteran would, however, like to be a little more consistent with the bat going ahead.
Bravo averages 24.61 with the ball and 23.17 with the bat in the IPL.
