Chennai Super Kings (CSK) predicted playing XI for their first game in IPL 2020

The 13^th edition of the Indian Premier League is finally ready to set the stage on fire in the middle-east nation of United Arab Emirates. The Emirates Cricket Board recently confirmed receiving the Letter of Intent to conduct the latest edition of IPL in UAE from BCCI. As soon as clearance is obtained from the Indian Government regarding moving IPL overseas for the current edition, the preparations are expected to get underway as quickly as possible.

Amidst the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, the sport is finally regaining its foothold in the international arena. With West Indies completing their tour to England without any major hiccups, the floor is now wide open for many tournaments to be conducted in a bio-secure bubble with safety regulations. Along with IPL, the Caribbean Premier League and T20 Blast are also set to be hosted in West Indies and England respectively.

Recently, in an interview, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra also revealed that he considers that the tournament being conducted in UAE would benefit the 3-time champions Chennai Super Kings a lot because of their comprehensive spin bowling department.  Notably, the yellow army has eight spinners in their squad including all-rounders.

Here we will discuss the probable playing XI who may take the field for the Super Kings in their first match of the thirteenth season:

1. Shane Watson

The dynamic all-rounder from Australia is expected to reprise his role as an opener for the Super Kings. A winner of the Most Valuable Player award on a couple of occasions, the opening batsman has become somewhat of a legend in the cash-rich league. Ever since the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2008, Watson has had a significant impact on his team’s performance each season.

Though he hasn’t been consistent for the last couple of years, he has doled out match-winning performances at the highest level. His contributions in the playoffs in the 2018 and 2019 edition are too good to be cast aside. In fact, he was on course to steer his team to victory in last year’s final before he injured his leg and got run out.

In 134 IPL matches, Watson has scored 3575 runs at an average of 31.09 striking runs at 139.54 runs per 100 balls. He also has 4 tournament hundreds to his name. Though he hardly takes the ball in his hand now, he is still the proud owner of 92 IPL scalps.