Best Chennai Super Kings (CSK) XI that played for India at the international level

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have been one of the iconic teams of the IPL. They’ve also been one of the most successful ones as well. They’ve won three titles which is the second-most in the history of the IPL but they’ve also played two seasons less than everyone else. It’s the players and the consistency of the players that has driven the team and that has defined their success. Not only the overseas players, but it has also largely been the Indian core that has set the platform and have performed really well. And there have been a lot of CSK players who have gone on to represent India as well. Thus, here we look at a CSK XI that has played for India: Murali Vijay Murali Vijay. (Photo: IANS) Murali Vijay may have played for three different IPL teams but he is recognised as a CSK player. All his success in the IPL has also come with CSK. The opening batsman played crucial roles in the 2010 and 2011 title-wins as well. Overall, he has scored 1676 runs in the yellow jersey which is the fourth-most and is still a part of the CSK squad. As far as international cricket is concerned, Vijay never got a consistent run for the first few years. He made his Test debut in 2008 but he was deemed as an injury-replacement. The Tamil Nadu opener came into the side only when either of Virender Sehwag or Gautam Gambhir were out injured. However, it all changed once those two started fading away. Vijay became India’s premier Test opener and did well on the overseas tours of South Africa, England and Australia between late 2013 and early 2015. He continued to be India’s first-choice Test opener till the England tour last year before everything went downhill for the Chennai-born batsman. He’s amassed 3982 runs in the longest format. He has even played ODIs and T20Is (a total of 26 combined) but never made an impact. Ambati Rayudu Ambati Rayudu. (Photo Source: Twitter) Ambati Rayudu has been in the news for all the wrong reasons in the recent past. He was overlooked for the World Cup earlier this year and in disappointment retired from all forms of cricket. He came out of retirement and now, has decided to skip the Ranji Trophy. Rayudu was India’s touted No. 4 in the lead-up to the 2019 World Cup before form deserted him and he fell out of favour. He had a similar path before the 2015 World Cup where he constantly played in the team but couldn’t break into the XI in the mega-tournament despite being in the squad. In all, Rayudu has played 55 ODIs and has scored 1694 runs at an average of 47.05. Over the last couple of years, he’s been a vital cog in the CSK line-up. He’s been flexible as well. The 34-year-old has constantly switched between the opening slot and middle order and yet has been effective. But he didn’t have a great IPL this year which played a big role in his exclusion from the World Cup squad. Suresh Raina Suresh Raina. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) Suresh Raina is one of the icons of the IPL and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The Uttar Pradesh left-hander has been a premier run-getter in the IPL. For a long time, he was leading the run charts as well but loss in form over the last few seasons has seen him slip to No. 2. Raina has played 164 matches for CSK and has aggregated 4527 runs (which is the most by any CSK player) across 10 seasons for them. He averages 33.28 and has a strike-rate of 137.34. Raina was already an established Indian player by the time the IPL started. He had already played a few ODIs and had featured in India’s maiden T20I as well. In 2010, the southpaw even made his Test debut and became the first Indian player to register a ton in all three formats. Post-2015-16 season, Raina fell out of favour. He did return briefly but couldn’t make a big impact. He last played for India in July 2018. Subramaniam Badrinath Subramaniam Badrinath (Photo Source: NOAH SEELAM/AFP via Getty Images) This is slightly unexpected but Subramaniam Badrinath is sixth on the all-time leading run-getters for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He was a part of the CSK set-up for the first six seasons and has managed to play in most of those. He has featured in 95 games for CSK and has scored 1441 runs. Badrinath was in and around the Indian team in the late 2000s. He made his ODI debut in 2008 in Sri Lanka but it took him a couple of years to get his maiden Test cap. He’s played only a couple of Test matches for India and that came against South Africa in early 2010s. The Tamil Nadu batsman scored 63 runs in three innings which included a fifty but fell out of favour at the end of the series. He was picked for the West Indies tour post the 2011 World Cup win where he played a couple of ODIs and his sole career T20I. MS Dhoni (C & WK) MS Dhoni (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) One of the first names that comes to mind when you think of India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is MS Dhoni. He’s built a legacy and it’s the bond that the former Indian captain has built with the franchise that keeps him connected. He might’ve played a couple of seasons with Rising Pune Supergiant when CSK were not around but his heart was always with the yellow brand. Dhoni has played 160 games for CSK and has been a consistent performer, scoring 3858 runs. He averages 44.34 which is one of the best in all of IPL. The skipper has donned multiple roles and can bat anywhere in the order. For India, he’s been one of the best wicket-keepers to have ever played the game across formats. He has a fabulous record and has been a loyal servant of Indian cricket. Dhoni is also among the most successful Indian captains of all time. Kedar Jadhav Kedar Jadhav. (Photo Source: Twitter) Kedar Jadhav is one of the late bloomers in Indian cricket. He made his international debut in November 2014 when he was over 29 but got consistent chances only towards the end of 2016. He had played only a handful of games until then. With India restricting their middle order a bit, Jadhav relished in the role of a floater. Moreover, his part-time spin was a boost as well as he gave the team some important breakthroughs. He is still around the ODI set-up and is constantly picked as well. As far as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are concerned, Jadhav joined them last year. After being a part of Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Jadhav was bought for a decent sum in the 2018 auctions. However, he pulled up in the first game and injured his hamstring which ruled him out of the entire tournament last year. This year, he played the full season but was very scratchy and couldn’t really hit his straps. Ravindra Jadeja Ravindra Jadeja. (Photo Source: Twitter) In 2012, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) spent their entire auction purse on one player and that is Ravindra Jadeja. It showed how badly they wanted him and how badly MS Dhoni wanted Jadeja in his side. The Saurashtra all-rounder has the ability to make an impact in all three departments. Be it with bat, ball or in the field, Jadeja is an absolute superstar. There may be times when he’s slightly off but when he’s in the zone, he can win games single-handedly. For CSK, Jadeja has played 102 games, scoring 865 runs and picking up 81 wickets (which is the third-most by a CSK bowler). At the moment, Jadeja is India’s premier all-rounder across formats. It’s been more than a decade since he first donned the India jersey. While there have been a few hiccups but the star all-rounder has proved his worth on multiple occasions. Ravichandran Ashwin MS Dhoni and Ravi Ashwin. (Photo Source: Twitter) If Ravindra Jadeja is the third-highest wicket-taker for CSK, his spin-twin Ravichandran Ashwin is at the second place. The Tamil Nadu off-spinner has taken 90 wickets and has an economy of 6.45 for CSK. He was one of the vital cogs for the team until 2015. However, after CSK came back from suspension, they couldn’t buy back Ashwin. He has been around Indian cricket for almost a decade as well. The off-spinner made his debut back in 2010, a year after making his IPL debut. He was India’s premier white-ball spinner post the 2011 World Cup and soon became India’s preferred spinner in Test cricket as well. The off-spinner has had a great time in Test cricket where he’s picked up 362 wickets in just 70 games. He is the fastest to the landmark of 300 and 350 Test wickets as well. Ashwin even has 150 ODI wickets while he was the first Indian bowler to reach 50 T20I wickets. Deepak Chahar Deepak Chahar (Photo by IANS) Having played just two seasons for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Deepak Chahar has already broken into the top 10 highest wicket-takers list for the franchise. With 32 wickets, the Rajasthan fast bowler is at No. 9 on that list. He has an average of 23.75 and strike-rate of 19.2. However, it was almost a decade ago that Chahar made his first-class debut and took eight wickets for 10 runs. But it took him almost nine years to break into the Indian squad. Chahar made his T20I debut last year in England which was also his international debut. He played just a few games before he was ignored. However, after a good IPL and India looking to experiment a touch, Chahar got another opportunity in the shortest format. This time, he grabbed it with both hands. The 27-year-old has been excellent and with his spell of six wickets for seven runs against Bangladesh has broken the record for best figures in a T20I as well. Laxmipathy Balaji Lakshmipathy Balaji. (Photo by Anesh Debik/Getty Images) Laxmipathy Balaji was Chennai Super Kings’ premier fast bowler for a couple of seasons at the start. However, he soon fell off the radar. He played 29 games and picked 31 wickets. But he was on the expensive side as he conceded runs at 8.63 per over. The Tamil Nadu fast bowler played for India quite a bit as well. He made his ODI debut in November 2002 before making his Test debut a year later. However, he couldn’t really make a big name for himself. In fact, Balaji also played T20Is in 2012 and was a part of the World T20 that year. He had decent returns in T20Is where he picked up 10 wickets from five games and averaged 12.10. However, Balaji wasn’t considered again despite starting well and age being on his side. Mohit Sharma Mohit Sharma. (Photo Source: IANS) Mohit Sharma and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) really go hand in hand. It is because of his exploits in the IPL, he got an India call-up and built on that. The Haryana fast bowler first played for CSK in 2013 and made an impact straight away. In the 48 games that he’s played for them, Mohit has picked up 58 wickets which is the most for an Indian fast bowler. Overall, he is fifth on the list of most wickets for CSK. Sharma made his India debut in August 2013 and became a regular member of the team. The fast bowler even played in the 2015 World Cup and was a part of a pace troika which also included Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami. Mohit Sharma also played eight T20Is for India with the last one coming back in October 2015.

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Best Chennai Super Kings (CSK) XI that played for India at the international level

There have been a lot of CSK players who have gone on to represent India.

Laxmipathy Balaji

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