The second-most successful side in the IPL had a good enough mini-auction
on Friday. They had primarily released overseas pacers, all-rounders ahead of
the event. The franchise came with a
clear approach to target a few experienced overseas players, who would fill in
the void created by the departure of Dwayne Bravo.

Among their seven picks, Ben Stokes was the finest to emerge
from the pack. Others were experienced players like Kyle Jamieson and Ajinkya
Rahane, who have solidified CSK’s backup plans in the IPL 2023. 

CSK IPL 2023 Squad: Ajinkya Rahane, Ben Stokes, Shaik Rasheed, Nishant Sindhu, Kyle Jamieson, Ajay Mandal, Bhagath Varma, Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chahar, Devon Conway, Dwaine Pretorius, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Mitchell Santner, Moeen Ali, MS Dhoni, Mukesh Choudhary, Prashant Solanki, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Simarjeet Singh, Subhranshu Senapati, Tushar Deshpande

So, based on the squad available, here is the list
of 11 players, who are likely to feature in CSK’s starting XI

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Top-order: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Moeen Ali

CSK have a quality opening pair in the form of Ruturaj
Gaikwad and Devon Conway. Gaikwad has turned out to be the most consistent scorer
for CSK in the last few years, while Conway impressed in his debut season last
year. The English all-rounder Moeen Ali will bat at no.3 for CSK to continue the
good work done by the openers.

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Middle-order: Ambati Rayudu, Ben Stokes, Ravindra Jadeja, MS
Dhoni (c & wk), Shivam Dube

CSK have a potent middle-order with the addition of Stokes
to the line-up. Ambati Rayudu and Ben Stokes will be the number four and five
in this line-up. Further, Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni will don the role of finishers.
Also, Shivam Dube can be a good option for number eight, providing batting depth and an extra bowling option.

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Bowlers: Deepak Chahar, Mukesh Choudhary, Maheesh Theekshana

Deepak Chahar has been struggling with injury concerns but is
expected to recover until the season arrives and be the lead pacer for CSK in the absence of Dwayne Bravo. The
left-arm pacer, Mukesh Choudhary was terrific in the last edition and will bowl
in tandem with Chahar. Lankan spinner Maheesh Theekshana will be the other spin option
in the line-up.

Starting Playing XI of CSK for IPL 2023: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Moeen
Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Ben Stokes, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Shivam
Dube, Deepak Chahar, Mukesh Choudhary, Maheesh Theekshana