IPL: Ranking Chennai Super Kings' five greatest bowlers of all time

The Chennai Super Kings have been one of the most successful teams in the history of the Indian Premier League. They have won the tournament on four occasions and have qualified for the most number of the playoffs. The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led team failed to qualify for the playoffs last season and finished in ninth place in the points table. They will start their campaign against the Gujarat Titans this season on March 31 at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

This year, CSK will be back playing their home games at the Chepauk, which is known to help the spinners. They bought the services of Ben Stokes in the IPL auction this year for INR 16.25 crores, and a lot will depend on him as he can provide excellent support in all departments. CSK's bowlers have won the Purple Cap four times since the inception of IPL, which is more than any other team. The credit for the team's massive success goes to the bowling lineup, which has included some of the most talented pacers as well as spinners.

Here are CSK's five greatest bowlers of all time in IPL:

5. Albie Morkel

The former South African all-rounder played for four franchises in the IPL but enjoyed the most success while representing CSK. He featured in 78 games for CSK from 2008 to 2013 and picked a total of 76 wickets at an average of 27.02. CSK purchased Albie Morkel during the inaugural auction for INR 2.7 crores (USD 675,000) against his base price of INR 90 lakh (USD 225,000).

In his debut season, Morkel picked 17 wickets at an average of 23.47 and was the joint-highest wicket-taker for the team. He scored some handy runs with the bat as well and was among the team's top five run-scorers that season. Morkel was among the four players CSK retained before going into the mega auction in 2011. He was involved in CSK's first 150-run partnership in the IPL in 2010.

With the bat, Morkel scored 827 runs at an average of 23.62 and a strike rate of 144.83 for CSK. He picked more than 10 wickets each season from 2008 to 2012. On April 12, 2012, Morkel hit 28 runs in an over bowled by Virat Kohli and helped the team chase a target of over 200 runs.