Chennai Super Kings keen on roping in Fleming, Dhoni again

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently announced the return of the two suspended franchises back to the IPL roster. Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals were suspended for two years after the conclusion of the 2015 edition of the popular T20 event. In the next two editions that followed, Rising Pune Supergiant and the Gujarat Lions were brought in the tournament as the replacements for the Royals and the Super Kings.

Now, with the official statement released by the BCCI, the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals are set to be back in the competition. In the statement, the acting BCCI president CK Khanna, acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary and IPL governing council chairman Rajeev Shukla noted that the return of the two teams will bolster the status of the tournament.

While the teams are set to return, a lot of eyes would be on the players that make it to these sides. When the two teams were suspended, their players had to undergo the auction hammer wherein the Supergiant and the Lions picked the players from the pool. It is being speculated that something of same sort might be on the cards again.

Structuring the core group

However, for the two-time champions Chennai Super Kings, this procedure might not be very fruitful. They were renowned for their core group of players. It will be very tough for them to regain the same bunch of players. However, the CSK management is keen on getting back the services of their coach Stephen Fleming (who coached RPS in 2016 and 2017 editions) and their skipper MS Dhoni.

As per the quotes in The New Indian Express, an official remarked the same. “Not just Fleming, we are expecting that other members of the support staff will also join us. Obviously we would like to have Dhoni, but have to wait until an announcement is made on the process of recruiting players,” the official quoted.