"Champion of Champions" Chennai Super Kings

**Vivasaayi** · 10th January 2011, 07:59 PM

Opening slot should goto hussey and can let him build his innings.

Considering that top rated bowlers will be bowling in the first 4-6 overs..we need someone classy like Hussey to get past that period with a decent score and then the players to follow can make use of second grade bowlers.

If vijay is going to be given this role..then anirudh srikanth is a better option to open and get some quick runs

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**raajarasigan** · 10th January 2011, 08:04 PM

Anirudh Srikkanth CSK'la eduthuttaingala... andha maadhiri ethum news illaye...

pin gate vazhiya vandhuttaana,,.

**Vivasaayi** · 10th January 2011, 08:11 PM

raajarasigan,

Anirudh and all by default will be playing for chennai

**directhit** · 10th January 2011, 08:24 PM

Hayden will be with CSK, not as a batsman - but another role - maybe a mentor role - adhaan flem irukkare ?!

**Plum** · 10th January 2011, 08:47 PM

N'Srinivasan to Cheeka:
Adhaan unnai brand ambassadora vechurukkomla. Anirudhai pona varusha dressoda vandhu training attend panna sollu. Adhukkellaam thaniyaa payment edhir paarkadhe

**ajaybaskar** · 11th January 2011, 04:24 PM

Retaining players was the key: Fleming
Tuesday, Jan 11 2011

By Stephen Fleming
(Coach, Chennai Super Kings)

As I sit in Bangalore airport waiting for my flight back to New Zealand, I get the chance to reflect on what has been an amazing couple of days. I must confess the whole experience has become a bit of a blur with players names, stats and budgets being the order of the weekend that also involved planning each session, targeting each player, the thrill of the chase and finally the buy with the resounding thump of the auctioneer’s hammer.

I have to say I am delighted with the team we have been able to put together. We made no secret of the fact we wanted to keep as many of our players as possible and if able to strengthen other areas to make us a competitive side in all conditions.

I think we have managed that and whilst disappointed to lose Murali (Muttiah Muralitharan) and Bala (Lakshmipathy Balaji), we must congratulate them on commanding such good prices and wish them well with their new franchises.

As you can see by the make-up of our side, we have most areas covered. We were lucky to be able to retain four key players and this then formed the basis of our buying strategy.

Mike Hussey at the top to continue his partnership with VJ (Murali Vijay), Bravo and Styris join Albie in the all-rounder category to give us options and skill through the middle stages of an innings and Ben Hilfenhaus, Kulasekara and Dougie Bollinger to provide the grunt in the engine room.

Randiv takes over Murali's spot which is a tough ask, but something he is capable of doing especially with Murali as a mentor in Sri Lanka, and finally the back-up batting with Bailey and Du Plessis.

Without doubt, the biggest challenge of this auction was the buying of local talent. There are two key aspects for teams in the IPL, one of them is leadership and the other is the strength of the Indian players in your squad. The fact that we were able to retain the skipper, VJ and Raina gave us a huge advantage as we set out to buy our local boys back, but it was still challenging as some of the prices that were reached were staggering.

We were always going to hunt Ashwin after his stellar finish to lPL-3 and then his great form in the Champions League, but we were very unsure how much it was going to cost. However, once we lost we lost Murali, we just had to go all out. In the scheme of things, $850,000 is a steal!

Badrinath was the other player that created a high price, but his value to the side is immense. We ask him to perform many roles within our talented batting line up and he provides the glue when things are coming unstuck. He has been an underestimated player by many opposition sides, but certainly his value is well known to his Chennai team-mates.

The job is to now fill the squad with our local talent and as Kasi (Viswanathan) and the team look to do this, I hope we are able to add the name Jakati to our team. He is going to be a key player this season and I look forward to seeing him back in Yellow alongside Randiv and Ashwin.

Another thing I am rapt about is the retention of our management team. This is a great group to work with and their work often goes unnoticed, but I can tell you now it is one of the most important parts of any successful side.

All in all, it was an amazing experience and one I thoroughly enjoyed. Working with MD, Guru (Gurunath Meiyappan) and the rest of the team to reconstruct another strong Super Kings side was challenging but immensely enjoyable.

I now look forward to getting the side together, playing great cricket for our fans and working hard to defend our title of IPL champions

**raajarasigan** · 11th January 2011, 05:46 PM

NEW DELHI: Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan says he will miss his previous IPL team Chennai Super Kings and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni but is excited to play for Kochi franchisee, the new entrants in the Twenty20 league.

Muralitharan, who had played a crucial role in CSK's title-triumph in IPL 3 and Champions League last year, was been signed up by team Kochi for $1.1 million at the two-day auction in Bangalore.

"I played with them for three years and have several happy memories with the team. My wife is also from Chennai and she is upset with this change but it happens in the game. I will miss Chennai, my teammates and miraculous captain Dhoni," Muralitharan said.

"Chennai had the excellent captain, a wonderful team and tremendous support. We enjoyed playing for them and last year was memorable in which we won the IPL and Champions league. I have taken a lot of wickets for them," said the veteran, who has 515 ODI and 800 Test wickets in his kitty.

"Kochi is a new venture and we will have new captain and new targets. I am quite excited about this. We will start afresh and try to give our best. I hope to have home like atmosphere in Kochi as well. I hope that people will understand my language (Tamil) in Kochi also," he added.

The spin wizard, who took 40 wickets in 40 matches for Chennai in last three seasons, said he wants to extend his IPL career for a few more years.

"I want to play IPL for the next two or three more years. I will try to perform with best of my abilities and experience. Team Kochi has put so much faith on me and I will not disappoint them," said the ace off spinner,

Talking about Kochi's combination of players, Muralitharan said they need some more young Indian guns.

"Kochi has experienced players like Mahela Jayawardhane, Brendon McCullum, VVS Laxman and Sreesanth. Now it is necessary to have some talented Indian youngsters," he said.

When asked about now CSK spinner Suraj Randiv's wish to learn the art of Doosra from him, the ace bowler said that he is willing to share his experience with the young bowlers.

"Suraj is a good bowler and future of Sri Lanka Cricket. Definitely I will give him important tips. Rather than the franchise, he is the one who will be benefited by playing for them. I am willing to share my experience and knowledge with everyone," said Murali.

Asked about his future plans, he said, "You don't know what is there in store for you. I will be involved with cricket for sure but not as a coach with any national team. May be at a shorter scale."

Talking about the snub the IPL franchisees meted out to Saurav Ganguly and Sanath Jayasuriya, he said, "This is franchise's decision. I don't know what is their thinking and calculations. I am also surprised but they are great players and will remain that."

Muralitharan, who quit Test cricket in July 2010, said it is his dream that bids adieu to ODI cricket with another World Cup Trophy in his hands.

"We are playing in the sub-continent. India will be the hot favourites but Sri Lanka is also a good team and we have played well recently. I hope that we can win the tournament which is my last one.

"I am happy that my name is there in the team. I want to bid adieu with the title triumph. I consider myself lucky as I was the part of 1996 winning team also," he said.