After missing out on playoff qualification last season, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will look to bounce back in IPL 2025. Ruturaj Gaikwad will lead the team for the second consecutive season.
He will have an experienced squad at his disposal to go for CSK’s sixth IPL title hunt. In the auction held ahead of the season, the franchise bought back Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra while bolstering the spin attack with the addition of Ravichandran Ashwin and Noor Ahmad.
On top of that, CSK strengthened their all-rounders quota with the addition of Sam Curran, Vijay Shankar, and Deepak Hooda. And as usual, they have the services of MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, and Matheesha Pathirana.
So, with IPL just a few days away, there’s one big question. What will be CSK’s strongest playing XI?
Here in this piece, we’ll predict the strongest possible playing XI for CSK in IPL 2025.
CSK Squad for IPL 2025:
Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Rahul Tripathi, Shaik Rasheed, Andre Siddarth, Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Vijay Shankar, Sam Curran, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Ravindra Jadeja, Rachin Ravindra, Deepak Hooda, MS Dhoni, Devon Conway, Vansh Bedi, Matheesha Pathirana, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Anshul Kamboj, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Gurjapneet Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Shreyas Gopal
CSK Strongest Playing XI for IPL 2025
Openers: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway
There’s not much of a surprise as to who will open for CSK. They will start with captain Gaikwad and Devon Conway.
The pair opened together for two seasons in 2022 and 2023. In those two seasons, Gaikwad and Conway aggregated 1208 runs in 22 innings. The tally also includes 4 century stands and 6 fifty partnerships for the first wicket.
So it’s a no-brainer to have Gaikwad and Conway as the designated openers throughout the 2025 season.
Middle Order: Rahul Tripathi, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran
CSK will have experienced players in the middle order. Rahul Tripathi is likely to occupy the third spot, thanks to his aggressive approach. He showed a glimpse of it last season while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Shivam Dube will follow him at No. 4. He has been a clean-striker for the franchise for the last three seasons. And he would like to continue that this edition as well.
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CSK fans were overjoyed when they learnt that MS Dhoni would play another season. The former skipper will keep the wickets and walk in late to dazzle with the bat.
Ravindra Jadeja will look to have a good season with the bat and ball, as will Sam Curran. The England all-rounder will return to the Chennai-based outfit after 2021.
Bowlers: Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad/Nathan Ellis, Matheesha Pathirana
In a major boost, Ravichandran will join hands with Jadeja to lead CSK’s spin attack. He will play a crucial role at his home ground at Chepauk.
Noor Ahmad will join the duo to form an unbeatable spin trio. The Afghan spinner has troubled batters with his left-arm wrist spin. Nathan Ellis might come in his place if there’s not much spin assistance. Ellis has been taking strides for Australia in white-ball cricket.
And at last, Matheesha Pathirana will be the lead pacer. The Sri Lankan has troubled batters with his pace and pinpoint yorkers.
Impact Player: Mukesh Choudhary
In case CSK only go with Pathirana and Curran as pace bowling options, then they might use the impact player rule to bring in an additional fast bowler. And Mukesh Choudhary will be the perfect fit here, replacing either Tripathi or Dube.
