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[12th_Man]

Official Link
www.chennaisuperkings.com/index/index.aspx

CricInfo Link:
http://content.cricinfo.com/ipl2009/content/site/ipl2009/team/team.html?team=4343


IPT20 URL
http://www.iplt20.com/teams-profile.html?team_id=1108


============================


MS Dhoni
Abhinav Mukund
Albie Morkel
Andrew Flintoff
Anirudha Srikkanth
Arun Karthik
George Bailey
Jacob Oram
Joginder Sharma
Lakshmipathy Balaji
 Makhaya Ntini
Manpreet Gony
Matthew Hayden
Michael Hussey
Murali Vijay
Muttiah Muralitharan
Napoleon Einstein
Palani Amarnath
Parthiv Patel
Ravichandran Ashwin
 S Vidyut
Shadab Jakati
Stephen Fleming
Subramaniam Badrinath
Sudeep Tyagi
Suresh Kumar
Suresh Raina
Thilan Thushara
Viraj Vilas Kadbe
Stephen Fleming (NZ) (Coach) 




========================

Wednesday, Apr 08 2009

Chennai: A confident Chennai Super Kings team left for Dubai this morning en route to South Africa for the 2009 Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament.

The team is scheduled to arrive in Johannesburg, South Africa, later tonight after taking the connecting flight from Dubai.

The Super Kings will eventually reach Durban on Thursday afternoon (IST) after an overnight halt at Johannesburg.

The players will get down to training after recovering from the journey and are likely to play a couple of practice matches.

“We are confident of a better performance this year and yes, will try to return home with the trophy,” said VB Chandrasekar, director, cricketing operations, on the eve of departure.

Super Kings finished runners-up to Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural event last year. They will open the 2009 IPL with a game against Mumbai Indians at Cape Town on April 18.


The Super Kings schedule (all timings IST):


1. April 18: vs Mumbai Indians (4 pm) in Cape Town.

2. April 20: vs Royal Challengers, Bangalore (8 pm) in Port Elizabeth

3. April 23: vs Delhi Daredevils (4 pm) in Durban

4. April 25: vs Kolkata Knight Riders (8 pm) in Cape Town

5. April 27: vs Deccan Chargers (4 pm) in Durban

6. April 30: vs Rajasthan Royals (8 pm) in Pretoria

7. May 02: vs Delhi Daredevils (8 pm) in Johannesburg

8. May 04: vs Deccan Chargers (8 pm) in East London

9. May 07: vs Kings XI Punjab (8 pm) in Pretoria

10. May 09: vs Rajasthan Royals (8 pm) in Kimberley

11. May 14: vs Royal Challengers, Bangalore (4 pm) in Durban

12. May 16: vs Mumbai Indians (4 pm) in Port Elizabeth

13. May 18: vs Kolkata Knight Riders (8 pm) in Pretoria

14. May 20: vs Kings XI Punjab (8 pm) in Durban

[12th_Man]

Owner: India Cements

Franchise fee: $91 million

Most expensive player: Mahendra Singh Dhoni - $1.5 million
   View Website of superkings
The Chennai Super Kings created history of sorts when they outbid competitors to have Mahendra Singh Dhoni in their ranks. The highest paid star of the league will also fulfill skipper duties for the team. Owned by India Cements, the franchise has added star value in former cricketer Kris Srikkanth and South Indian actors Vijay and Nayantar appointed as brand ambassadors. The MA Chidambaram Stadium will be the home ground.

Coached by former South African cricketer Kepler Wessels, the team makes up for the absence of an Icon Player by having stalwarts like Matthew Hayden, Stephen Fleming, Michael Hussey, Jacob Oram, Makhaya Ntini and Muttiah Muralidharan lending their participation to the Super Kings. The team's name was chosen as a tribute to the rulers of the golden era of Tamil culture. 

[12th_Man]

Balaji the brave heart:

Monday, Mar 09 2009

It was late afternoon when Lakshmipathy Balaji made his appearance at VB Chandra­sekar’s academy on the southern outskirts of Chennai about a year ago. The sunny sm­ile was very much on, but that’s about it. An interview request was politely decli­ned. “I am still to bowl a ball (in competitive cricket). So, there is nothing much to talk about. Please excuse me,” he said with his trademark smile.

Fast forward to February 2009, and Balaji had plenty to talk about. A few hours after he was included in the Indian Test side to tour New Zealand next month, he agreed to speak on reaching Visakapatnam for the Su­bbaiah Pillai one-day tournament.


This is the story of a fast bowler who li­terally came back from the dead as it were, and unique in the context of winning a battle against the demons within.


At the lowest point in his life when he was told of stress fracture that needed surgery, Balaji, who attained an iconic status following the tour to Pakistan in 2004, was convinced his cricketing career was finis­hed. “I couldn’t even bowl with a tennis ball; couldn’t bend my back, couldn’t walk without feeling the pain in my back. I thought I will never bowl again,” he recounted.

“I had first felt the pain during a Duleep Tr­ophy game in October 2005. I had just then returned from Zimbabwe where I took 10 wickets in two matches. Those days, sp­orts medicine in India was not as well dev­eloped as it is now as far as diagnosing an injury is concerned. I was advised some re­st, but the pain wouldn’t go. I spent more ti­me under the scanning machine than at ho­me. Nobody knew what was wrong,” he said.


In desperation, Balaji flew to Australia. “N Srinivasan (TNCA president and now the BCCI secretary) was good enough to sanction the trip. On the very first day in Au­stralia, they told me I had a stress fracture. I was put on a four-month rehabilitation programme and was asked to correct my bowling action,” he recalled. But then, while Balaji rested his back, he chose not to correct his action. When he did resume his cricket, the pain returned during the Irani Trophy game in September 2006.


“I did not correct my action, but I thought I was shaping up well. I decided to take three weeks off. I approached (WV) Raman had just then taken over as the coach of the Tamil Nadu team and we started working together.”

In the process, Balaji was unwittingly causing more damage to his back as he later discovered. It was a recurring injury that he worsened by bowling. “I was actually rupturing the damaged portion and slowing the healing process. It led to the stress fracture,” he said. Balaji hit his lowest point. “I started bowling with a tennis ball on the Chepauk wicket. I couldn’t bend and even a 40 per cent effort made my back rock solid. It affected my bre­athing. I told myself that I don’t think I will bowl again. I was about 30 per cent fit and I had lots of doubts.”


At this juncture, Raman put his foot down and insisted on a MRI and CT scan. “I went to Apollo hospital and after seeing the reports, Dr Sajan Hegde suggested surgery as the injury otherwise could affect my normal life. I was very reluctant, but I was keen to play cricket again. I took my time to decide on the surgery. I surfed the net and researched trying to find the right surgeon. I sent my papers to a lot of doctors all over the world and all suggested surgery.”


In the course of his research, Balaji found his saviour. “I came across a paper on spinal surgery that said that 18 fast bowlers had undergone successful surgery between 1975 and 2005. I then contacted Dr Vijay Ranawat in England and mailed him my papers. He replied the very next day saying it (stress fracture) was common among fast bowlers and agreed to perform the surgery. It meant I had to go to England and again Mr N Srinivasan helped me. He said the BCCI wanted to see me play cricket again and so I flew to England.”


The surgery was successful. Balaji and Ranawat bonded. “He is like my own brother. We became very close and remain in touch. He knows everything about me. I stayed back for the rehab programme in Essex where Andrew Neiland (well-known physio with Hampshire county) worked on me. On my return to India, Raman and I began to work on my bowling while Ramji Srinivasan helped me with my training. We worked hard, swimming and gym for six hours a day. My desire to play cricket drove me and Raman kept telling me that I can still play for India.”

The long hours of toil finally paid off. In 2008, with the launch of the IPL, Chennai Super Kings offered to sign him on. “The IPL opened the doors for me. It was the right platform as I could test myself against the top Indian and international players and also my fitness as it involved a lot of travel.”


Balaji marked his return with a hat-trick in the very first IPL game and went on to take 11 wickets from nine matches. “I had made some bio-mechanical corrections in my bowling. My action is a bit more semi-open that puts less pressure on my back. I am not too far away from my old pace, but it is not all about pace but effectiveness. I can make the ball move both ways,” he said of his remodelled action.

The recall to the Indian team, first in Sri Lanka for the ODI series and now, the Test tour of New Zealand, has not overly excited Balaji. “We have come a long way. It has been a team effort. My family, Raman, Ranawat, Neiland, Ramji and friends are my pillars. God has pres­ented me with an opportunity and I want to make the best of it,” he signed off.


(Courtesy The New Indian Express) and  http://www.chennaisuperkings.com/interview/InterviewContent.aspx?IvID=14

[12th_Man]

Possible


PPatel
Hayden
Raina
Badri
MSD
Flintoff
Mvijay/Srikanth/Siva
A.Morkel
Gony
Ntini
Balaji

[justforkix]

why ? Murali and Oram have opted out ?

[12th_Man]

why ? Murali and Oram have opted out ?

in my mind.

Couldn't fit so many Intl stars. Oram, I was not too sure abt playing after NZ .
Should Hayden sit in that case to make way for Oram.
Murali can play in place of Morkel .Flintoff,Ntini should play IMO.

[gouravk]

hayden, morkel, oram and murali should be in the starting line up. i would make flintoff wait. well on second thoughts close call between flintoff and oram but morkel should definitely play.

[12th_Man]

After paying 1.5 mln and being available, If Flintoff is not in team there is something terribly wrong with the thought process of team forming.
He would probably be one of the best bowlers and an attcking bat, Why would Oram be preferred over him?  just for batting. Oram could not make himslef fit before the Test in NZ. So IMO this would be no brainer to pick Flintoff as sureshot player in the line up.
Remaining three can go through various permutation and combinations.

[gouravk]

hehe .. im not sure of the 1.5 million thing. one thing i can say tho ... purely as a batsman im not sure flintoff is above oram in this format.

[12th_Man]

hehe .. im not sure of the 1.5 million thing. one thing i can say tho ... purely as a batsman im not sure flintoff is above oram in this format.

That i have agreed to in the prev post. Oram would be better bat. The price tag was for utility player.
If I have to form a team, would  prefer abt  3 all rounders in team. That way BRC has a good combination.

A std scoreline would be abt 170  i.e 8.5 RPO .
Talking in ballpark terms, A good bowler may go for  7 RPO vs 9 RPO of batting alrounder.
considerign 4 overs: 2* 4 = 8 runs difference. If the batting alrounder has the talent to hit 2 out of 6 balls out of stadium, the cloice becomes marginal.

But as CP said in the other thread, not all will  get to bat. Very rare one will have full team batting in 20 overs. Thus there is scope for atleast 2 complete bowlers ( with no batting). A team can bat till no 9 with power hitting to chase a 200 + total. IMO Intelligent bowling may be weighed more here than skilled bowling.

[gouravk]

hmm .. i just feel batting is our weaker wing - with raina having a penchant for throwing away starts and parthiv a liability at the top. hence hayden, oram have to play now that hussey is gone. and morkel of course was the star last time around. but then if that happens, we cant drop murali otherwise the bowling will be weak.

[12th_Man]

Yes I agree again  . Tha bats are weaker link. However won't count Raina in there.  WIll count Parthiv, Vijay,Badri.
Badri, somehow I feel  now understands tha IPL and Indian selection are two different things, and I hope him to perform bettter this time. Player in IPL should not keep their selection for national team in mind.

That still leaves two weak batting spots. If Oram can come in say for Ntini or Murali that would give an option to get a local bowler replacing one of the bats.

Ntini and Murali however are attacking bowlers and the breaks they are capable of giving will be difficult to calliberate.

Let me try to think a bit differently.

Vidut/Srikant
Hayden
Raina
MSD
Flintoff
Morkel/Oram
Badri
Gony
Joginder(weak link)
Balaji
Ntini/Murali

Somehow It is difficult to squeeze in Oram. I won't compete him with Flintoff, Would rather chose between him and Morkel, and would prefer Morkel.
Let us see what they come up with.

[dextrous]

actually depending on how well hayden can still bat, i'd replace him with oram on the top

[gouravk]

there is also the vidiot !

[justforkix]

why ? Murali and Oram have opted out ?

in my mind.

Couldn't fit so many Intl stars. Oram, I was not too sure abt playing after NZ .
Should Hayden sit in that case to make way for Oram.
Murali can play in place of Morkel .Flintoff,Ntini should play IMO.

Morkel can never be dropped from 20-20 games. Flintoff is their best bowler and available only for 2 weeks. He should bne in the XI too.

My starting XI would be

Hayden
Vidyut/Vijay/Mukund
Raina
Badri
Dhoni
Morkel
Flintoff
Balaji
Murali
Ashwin
Gony

Oram replaces Flintoff after 2 weeks. If Hayden doesen't score in 3-4 games, replace him with Ntini and bring in Vidyut/Mukund/Vijay. drop one of the desi bowlers who is doing the worst - Gony/Balaji or Ashwin depending on the pitch.

Is Fleming still a player or just coach ?

[gouravk]

flintoff is "their" best bowler ?  who are you supporting jfk ? 

[12th_Man]

Looks like Parthiv is in the run:
Parthiv, Raina steer CSK to win warm-up match

Parthiv Patel and Suresh Raina struck fifties as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) romped to a comfortable 41-run victory over South African domestic side Nashua Dolphins in a Twenty20 practice match here ahead of the Indian Premier League starting Saturday.

Patel (51) and Raina (70) guided Super Kings to 180 in their 20 overs before Muttiah Muralitharan (3/32), Joginder Sharma (2/23) and R Ashwin (2/26) wrecked the local side which folded for 139.

Playing under lights at the Kingsmead stadium, Super Kings won the toss and decided to bat first.

Opener Matthew Hayden (9) departed early after hitting a two fours with the team score on 10.
Raina and Parthiv then shared a 120-run second-wicket stand, averaging 10 runs an over.

The partnership was broken after Parthiv fell to Arun Karthik who was 'loaned' to the Dolphins for just this game.

George Bailey (19) struck a few blows as the Super Kings made 180 for seven.

For the Dolphins, Arun Karthik (30) and D Miller (16) were the only batsmen to make any noteworthy contribution as Muralitharan, Ashwin and Joginder combined to destroy the host team's line-up.

http://cricket.ndtv.com/cricket/ndtvcricket/storypage/ndtv/id/spoen20090090872/story15042009_162500.html

[gouravk]

yeah i wouldnt bet much on parthiv. he does have the recocrd of the slowest 50 in last year's IPL tho 

[justforkix]

flintoff is "their" best bowler ?  who are you supporting jfk ? 

who is a better bowler than flintoff in CSK ?

[gouravk]

i meant to say why are you saying "their" best bowler ? say "our" best bowler for god's sake ! duh !

[justforkix]

i meant to say why are you saying "their" best bowler ? say "our" best bowler for god's sake ! duh !

our ? oh, I'm not supporting CSK or any specific team per se. didn't really care too much last year, don't really care this time around too.

[gouravk]

oh come on ! whats the fun then ? 

[justforkix]

Among the players in the IPL, I like 5 players - McGrath, Albe, Bravo, Duminy, ABDe. So, I will support, CSK, DD, and MI when they are playing the other teams. Neutral when they each other   

[LosingNow]

Among the players in the IPL, I like 5 players - McGrath, Albe, Bravo, Duminy, ABDe. So, I will support, CSK, DD, and MI when they are playing the other teams. Neutral when they each other   

hedging away..

come on, put a stake in the ground .. be a man (paraphrasing the terminator!)

[justforkix]

what stake ? I don't really care much for the IPL. I'm watching it mainly for fantasy reasons and because no other cricket is being played. I'll definitely watch the Aus-Pak ODIs and Eng-WI tests over IPL.

[12th_Man]

source:http://content.cricinfo.com/ipl2009/content/image/399882.html

[RicePlateReddy]

TL reaction. I just realized that Vidyut and Aniruddh are being proposed for the opener's slot, and  their fathers successfully opened for TN for many years.

[gouravk]

dude did you NOT enjoy the ipl last year ?

[justforkix]

nope.... - to be precise, it was ok for a while, but then got too long and boring, lost interest after half-way stage. prefer the other forms of cricket over T20 and international cricket over league cricket.

[gouravk]

it was GREAT for a while - but i agree got too long towards the end ... having said that i would anyday prefer T20 over ODIs and this format over meaningless tri series and 7 match bi series

[candymachine]

IPL important for me - Flintoff
17 April 2009, 5:01 pm



IPL important for me - Flintoff



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Flintoff relishing start of IPL

Andrew Flintoff says he is right to play in the Indian Premier League, despite suggestions he should be rested ahead of the big Ashes summer.

The England all-rounder, 31, has been plagued by injury in recent years.

But he plays for Chennai Super Kings against Mumbai Indians in Cape Town on Saturday saying he needs the cricket.

"I missed a lot of cricket through injury. I missed four weeks this winter, so the more cricket I can play now, the better for me," he said.

And he feels England's other IPL imports will benefit too, ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 taking place in England in June.

"I think people are losing sight of the importance of the World Twenty20 - the importance not just for myself, but people like Dimi Mascarenhas, Kevin Pietersen and Ravi Bopara developing the skills in this form of the game because it's just getting bigger and better."



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IPL arrives in South Africa

Flintoff sold for more than £1m at this season's IPL auction, and says playing in the league can only be of benefit to the English game.

"Twenty20 cricket is something England need to improve on. We've not had too much success. I think like it or hate it - it's going to be around for a long time.

"It's going to be a big part of international cricket as well. The game has been a success since it started in England and I can only see it going from strength to strength.

"We played the World Cup out here a few years back, it didn't go too well and then we got found out in the West Indies.

"The more exposure you're going to get, the better you're going to get. And that's something I want to do, develop my skills and improve my game."

Pietersen, captain of the Bangalore Royal Challengers, voiced similar views.

He said: "I'm here to try and have a fantastic two weeks to learn my cricket through the legends I'm going to be playing with and playing against.

"Hopefully a lot of the England boys playing here can do that and we take that back to England. I definitely think it's going to take our game forward.

Flintoff and Pietersen have been granted just two weeks in South Africa by their main employers, the England and Wales Cricket Board.



606: DEBATE

What are your hopes for the IPL?

Other regular England internationals - Paul Collingwood, Owais Shah (both Delhi Daredevils) and Bopara (King's XI Punjab) - are also involved on a similar time restriction, due to England commitments.

However, Mascarenhas (Rajasthan) - England's sole representative last year - and Graham Napier (Mumbai Indians) are available for the entire event.

The second edition of the IPL lasts for more than six weeks, having been switched because of concerns over security in India.

Eight teams will play the full 59-match schedule in South Africa, climaxing with the final in Johannesburg on 24 May.

BBC sports news producer Dave Lockwood reports: "In just under a month the tournament's organisers have relocated over 5,000 miles, set up 59 matches in 37 days at 8 venues, made 40,000 hotel bookings and purchased 10,000 plane tickets.

"The tournament chief Lalit Modi says it has been 'smooth sailing' and is quick to praise everyone involved from the South African government downwards.

"With the first matches sold out, his confidence appears justified - but to be a real success the level of interest will have to be retained throughout the tournament."



Inside Sport - Matthew Pinsent looks at the IPL in South Africa

Modi has promised "a non-stop carnival from day one to the end" and told the BBC's Inside Sport programme: "I look at it as an opportunity to showcase India and build a big fan base in another country."

"Everyone is very excited about it, it's the talk of the town everywhere we go, so we are hoping to build on that and make sure everybody hears about the Indian Premier League and in some way or another can participate in it."

The tournament is not without its notable absentees, though, with Pakistan players banned by their own government and a host of Australia internationals opting out.

Nathan Bracken, Brett Lee and Andrew Symonds will miss the first three weeks because of the ODI series against Pakistan, while Australian skipper Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey and Mitchell Johnson have opted out entirely, preferring to concentrate on Ashes preparation.



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South Africa next best place for IPL - Warne

England seamer Stuart Broad also declared himself unavailable for the same reasons.

Australia legend Shane Warne will again lead the Rajasthan Royals as they look to regain their IPL title.

"We're probably the franchise most affected by the switch to South Africa because last year Jaipur was a real fortress for us, we got seven wins out of seven matches there," the spinner told BBC Sport.

"But South Africa is just as good a place as any to play cricket. The people here are brilliant and we've been looked after amazingly well so we're all looking forward to getting started."

Meanwhile, Modi has revealed the IPL will start a month earlier in 2010, with matches taking place during March and April in a bid to avoid a clash with the ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies in April and May.



Source: BBC Sport | Cricket | World Edition

[Blwe_torch]

Candy...which one is your favorite team in IPL?

[cricket_news]

Chennai Super Kings trim squad by five
18 April 2009, 4:32 pm



After defending champions Rajasthan Royals, it is now the turn of the Chennai Super Kings to send back five from their IPL squad in South Africa. Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, Srikkanth Anirudha, Suresh Kumar, Abhinav Mukund and Napoleon Einstein have been trimmed from Chennai's 28-man squad.

By axing batsmen Vidyut, who played nine games last year for 145 runs, and Anirudha, the son of Indian chairman of selectors Kris Srikkanth, it appears Chennai's strategy is to have more bowlers on their bench.

On his blog on the Chennai website, VB Chandrasekhar, the team's cricket manager, said it was a "tough" decision that could not be helped. He credited Chennai's coach Stephen Fleming for delivering the hard news to the players in smooth fashion. "Flemo played a big role and he handled the situation quite well. I am sure it wasn't an easy task to break the news to the five youngsters, but we thought it was better to retain the bowlers as a cover for our frontline attack."

With the IPL being forced to squeeze 59 games in 37 days, and the tournament being forced to move to South Africa at the last minute, teams have been under pressure to trim their squads in order to meet the logistical challenge.

"The schedule is pretty hectic with a lot of travel thrown in. As such, those carrying or suffering injuries will have little time to recover and the stress would be particularly more on our bowlers," said Chandrasekar. "Hence the decision to have sufficient cover for them and send back five batsmen."



Source: India news from Cricinfo

[dextrous]

RR could use a couple of those bats!

[justforkix]

well, the players who are sent home are still part of the franchise and paid their contract money. this is just cutting incidental costs.

[LosingNow]

well, the players who are sent home are still part of the franchise and paid their contract money. this is just cutting incidental costs.

Exactly..

I thought there were squad size constraints too, per IPL rules?

[justforkix]

well, the players who are sent home are still part of the franchise and paid their contract money. this is just cutting incidental costs.

Exactly..

I thought there were squad size constraints too, per IPL rules?

yes. 18. Any of the ones sent back can be called back anytime during IPL, replacing one of the existing players.

[gouravk]

glad to see that the vidiot is not in the plans. he is a ridiculous player to put it mildly.

[ganavk]

Boy, does MSD has problems of plenty with this CSK team especially with local players.
- badri playing too much down the order
- Ashwin ( the bowler) playing in the XI and did not get a single over  Was MSD even aware that he can bowl ?

[LosingNow]

Boy, does MSD has problems of plenty with this CSK team especially with local players.
- badri playing too much down the order
- Ashwin ( the bowler) playing in the XI and did not get a single over  Was MSD even aware that he can bowl ?

I think they would have played Morkel or Ntini ahead of Tushara .. and then replaced Ashwin with a local bat. Morkel/Ntini made it on time from the last Aus ODI game but their kits did not, it seems.
They have a problem of plenty in the foreigners.. how can one keep Murali out??? I think their best 4 foreigners are Hayden, Flintoff, Morkel and Murali... and when Flintoff leaves bring Oram in. They should play 2 of Gony, Balaji and Jogi for medium pace.. and then have rest as batsmen.