CSK won their fourth IPL title in the 2021 season. Although CSK skipper MS Dhoni admitted KKR were the deserving champions for their great comeback in the tournament, the bottom line is CSK is the winner. They are called the Daddy’s army as they have the most 35-plus players in their squad and experienced as well. But Dhoni proved experience matters even in a format tailor-made for youngsters.
So, what was the CSK XI of 2021 IPL final doing when MS Dhoni-led team won their first IPL title way back in 2010?
Cricwizz takes a look.
Ruturaj Gaikwad
The CSK opener, who bagged the orange cap for scoring the most runs in IPL 2021, was just 13 years old when CSK won their maiden IPL title in 2010. And at that age, Ruturaj had joined Varroc Vengsarkar Cricket Academy in Pune to pursue a career in cricket.
Faf du Plessis
Faf, who was the man of the final in IPL 2021, was yet to make his international debut when CSK won the 2010 edition. However, he joined CSK in their next winning season in 2011 and was also part of the victorious 2018 and 2021 editions. Overall, he was part of three winning titles for CSK in 9 seasons.
Robin Uthappa
Robin, whose power-packed innings in the play-offs at no 3, gave stability to CSK innings was playing for his second IPL franchise RCB in 2010 when CSK won their first IPL title. He had earlier played for Mumbai Indians in 2008. Later, he went to be part of Pune Warriors India before being part of KKR winning XI in 2014 IPL. He was part of Rajasthan Royals in 2020 before joining CSK in 2021.
Moeen Ali
Ali was playing first-class cricket for Worcestershire in 2010 when CSK won their first IPL title. Ali was not considered in the IPL auction until he was selected by RCB in 2018 IPL. After being released by RCB post the 2020 season, he joined CSK and made a stellar impact in the IPL 2021 final to become the first Englishman to win an IPL title.
Ambati Rayudu
Rayudu, who has been with CSK since 2018, was part of the Mumbai Indians XI that lost to CSK in the 2010 IPL final. Rayudu made 21 in the match before he was run-out. Rayudu went on to be part of three winning campaigns for Mumbai before being part of 2 victorious CSK squads.
MS Dhoni
MS Dhoni was the captain of CSK when the team won the IPL 2010 title. It was his second-biggest title after winning the World T20 in 2007.
Ravindra Jadeja
6,6,6+Nb, 6,2,6,4 by Jadeja in the 20th over against the purple cap holder - 37 runs - the game changer.#Jadeja #Jaddu #CSKvRCB 🔥🔥💥 #RCBvsCSK #DhoniVsKohli #IPL2021 #CSKvKKR pic.twitter.com/7ghGf24tpl
— AYN🇮🇳 (@mdsraz1) April 25, 2021
Jadeja didn’t play the 2010 season as he was banned from that tournament due to contractual irregularities. However, he had made his limited-overs debut for India by that time. He went on to play for Kochi Tuskers Kerala in 2011 before being part of CSK since 2012.
Dwayne Bravo
Like Rayudu, Bravo was part of the Mumbai Indians squad in 2010 IPL when CSK won the title although he was not part of the final. He joined CSK in 2011 and has been part of the Dhoni-led squad except for two seasons when CSK was banned.
Shardul Thakur
Thakur’s stock has risen since the Australia tour early this year. He made a useful contribution to CSK in the 2021 season. He was yet to make his First-Class debut in 2010 when CSK won their first IPL title. It was only in 2012 that he made his first-class debut. He played for Kings XI Punjab and Rising Pune Supergiant before joining CSK in 2018.
Deepak Chahar
CSK pace-bowling spearhead Chahar was just 18, and yet to make his First-Class debut when CSK won their first IPL title in May 2010. But in November 2010, Chahar made a spectacular First-Class debut for Rajasthan taking 8/10 in the first innings against Hyderabad. He played for Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016-17 before joining CSK in 2018.
Josh Hazlewood
Hazlewood was 19 when CSK won its first IPL title in May 2010. A month later, Hazlewood made his ODI debut for Australia. He joined CSK in 2020 and won a title in just his second IPL season.
Cover Credits: IPLT20.com
