IPL 2023: Four First Choice Overseas Players for Chennai Super Kings For Their Playing XI

Chennai Super Kings is one of the most successful and popular franchises of the Indian Premier League. CSK will try to find their best combination for the IPL 2023 as soon as possible in order to get favorable results. CSK will play their first game against the Gujarat Titans which will also be the inaugural game of IPL 2023. The game will be played on March 31 at The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

While the MS Dhoni-led team might have easily selected the 7 Indian players for the first game, it’s selecting the 4 overseas players which will prove to be a tedious task for them. CSK will miss a couple of overseas players in their opening game against Gujarat Titans.

Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana will remain unavailable for the first game as they’ll feature in Sri Lanka vs New Zealand series.

Here’s the list of 4 overseas players who might feature in CSK’s playing XI on March 31

1. Ben Stokes

England’s test skipper Ben Stokes will be the most crucial asset for Men in Yellow in IPL 2023. CSK acquired the services of Ben Stokes for a whopping INR 16.25 Crore. Stokes will provide the much-needed balance to their squad in the absence of Dwayne Bravo.

Ben Stokes has earlier played for Rajasthan Royals and Rising Pune Supergiant franchise. He has done pretty well till now in IPL and his decent off-cutters can provide him great success on Chennai’s slow track.

2. Devon Conway

The Kiwi opener has delivered consistent results for his national side in the past couple of years. Devon Conway has also done pretty decent in the limited opportunities he got during the IPL 2022 for CSK.

Conway might play the aggressive role as Ruturaj Gaikwad will anchor the innings. The right-hand left-hand combination will allow CSK to put pressure on opponent bowlers. He has a staggering strike rate of 145.66 in the 7 IPL games that he has played.

3. Moeen Ali

CSK will use Moeen Ali as a pinch hitter who can take on bowlers both in the powerplay and during the powerplay overs. Moeen Ali is currently at number 8 in the ICC all-rounders rankings.

His off-spin too will prove to be handy, especially at The MA Chidambaram Stadium. The wicket in Chennai will provide him enough turn to trouble the opponent batters.

4. Mitchell Santner

CSK will look to use Mitchell Santner as a three-dimensional player in the absence of Mahesh Theekshana. The Kiwi all-rounder can provide them with a few crucial runs in the lower middle order.

Mitchell Santner has also been really consistent with his left-arm spin in the limited opportunities he has gotten for CSK in the past few seasons. He remains quite economical and grabs crucial wickets in the middle overs. At the same time, he is a gun fielder known for his brilliant athleticism.

CSK have also added South African pacer Sisanda Magala as the replacement for New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson. Magala is known for his wicket-taking ability whole he can score a few runs in the lower order as well.