The much-awaited cricket festival, Indian Premier League (IPL) will kick off today (March 31) in Ahmedabad. Four-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will take on the reigning champions Gujarat Titans (GT) in the inaugural match of IPL 2023 tonight at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium. MS Dhoni-led CSK will look to get their campaign off to a strong start as the men in yellow looked shaky in last season, finishing ninth in the points table.

In the last few years, CSK’s top-order batting has been settled with Ruturaj Gaikwad opening alongside Devon Conway and Ambati Rayudu coming in at No.3. Gaikwad had been the most impactful player for Super Kings with the bat and played an essential part in CSK’s last title triumph victory in 2021. Though Rayudu has had a couple of lean seasons, his quality and batting skills are undoubted.

CSK roped in the England Test captain Ben Stokes for INR 16.25 crore and he is expected to play a big role in CSK’s bid to win their 5th title. Stokes will provide the much-needed firepower to the middle order which already includes Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, and Dhoni. Moeen has been a consistent performer with the bat and also handy with his off-spin bowling. CSK will be banking on Jadeja’s all-round ability and Dhoni’s finishing prowess to clinch games.

The bowling attack is where CSK faces a dilemma, Sisanda Magala who replaced injured Jamieson is unavailable as he is on national duty. Matheesha Pathirana is also on national duty with Sri Lanka. So, the pace trio of Deepak Chahar, Simarjeet Singh, and Tushar Deshpande is likely to play against GT. Either Dwaine Pretorius or Mitchell Santner might take the role of the overseas bowler in the playing XI. The impact player will be one to keep an eye on with Shivam Dube could be used.