Players go through walls for Dhoni, never heard anyone say they didn't like playing for CSK: Aakash Chopra

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have been one of the most successful teams in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). With four IPL titles and nine final appearances to their name, CSK have been a force to reckon with under the captaincy of MS Dhoni, who has led the side in all twelve seasons that they have been part of the competition so far.

From the 2018 season when CSK made their return to the IPL after a two-year ban, they have focused on building their squad around a core group of experienced players and have also enjoyed tremendous success. In the recently-concluded IPL 2022 mega auction, CSK once again stuck with the same philosophy.

They managed to get back a number of their former players including the likes of Dwayne Bravo, Robin Uthappa and Ambati Rayudu despite all of them being on the wrong side of their 30s. While CSK have been often mocked as the 'Dad's Army' for having many old players in their squad, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has hailed the four-time champions for believing in and sticking to their philosophy.

Chopra, a cricketer-turned commentator also lauded Dhoni for his terrific leadership qualities and explained how the CSK skipper commands a lot of respect among the players. Chopra said CSK players are ready to go through the walls for their captain and he has never heard any player say that they didn't like playing for the Dhoni-led side in the IPL.

“Many people say that CSK is Dad’s Army or Grand Dad’s Army, but they are not. CSK follows a philosophy. The philosophy is that they always try to bring their players back. CSK is a franchise where I have never heard a player saying that they did not like playing. Players go through walls for MS Dhoni and the franchise. They tried to go for all their players in the auction," Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.

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Apart from Rayudu, Uthappa and Bravo, CSK also managed to get back Indian pacer Deepak Chahar, who they went all out for and spent a whopping Rs 14 crore (INR 140 million) to secure his services once again. However, the franchise did miss out on the likes of Faf du Plessis, Shardul Thakur and Josh Hazlewood among others.

While Chopra believes CSK have managed to rope in a strong squad with a great mix of experience and youth, he feels death bowling will be their biggest concern heading into the new season. However, Chopra insisted Dhoni will not be losing sleep over the death bowling concerns in the squad.

“If you look through a lens, you may find that death bowling may be a concern. They didn’t get Josh Hazlewood; he used to bowl at the death. Bravo is not the same as before. Chahar and Milne are your new-ball bowlers. That’s the only potential weakness I can see. But it won’t worry MS Dhoni at all. He’s not going to lose his sleep over this," said Chopra.

Also Read: 'It was difficult, but...': CSK reveals why Suresh Raina wasn't picked during IPL 2022 mega auction

CSK squad for IPL 2022:

Chennai Super Kings (CSK): MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, Ambati Rayudu, Dwayne Bravo, Robin Uthappa, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Maheesh Theekshana, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Simarjeet Singh, Devon Conway, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Subhranshu Senapati, Mukesh Choudhary, Prashant Solanki, C Hari Nishaanth, N Jagadeesan, Chris Jordan, K Bhagath Varma