IPL 12: Chennai Super Kings retain core players including Dhoni and Raina

CHENNAI: Defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) retained most of their players from their winning combination for IPL-12 on Wednesday. The three-time champions have released only three players - England fast bowler Mark Wood and two uncapped Indian players Kanishk Seth and Kshitiz Sharma - from their 26-member squad last season.


Indian allrounder Kedar Jadhav and New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner, who missed the last IPL due to injuries, have been retained. England allrounder David Willey, who was drafted in the side to replace Kedar, has also kept his place.

Having managed to maintain their core, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men will aim for an encore. Even though overseas players like Faf du Plessis, Lungi Ngidi and Imran Tahir (all from South Africa), Willey of England are likely to depart early to prepare for the World Cup, starting in England in May next year, CSK won't be too bothered. The core group of players such as Shane Watson, Sam Billings, Dwayne Bravo have been influential last season and CSK will once again bank on them.

A source close to CSK said that their squad is sorted. "Cricket South Africa hasn't informed about whether they want their players back in order to prepare their squad for the World Cup. Neither did the England board. But even if they call back their players, we won't face much of a trouble," the source told TOI.

CSK coach Stephen Fleming said that the experience of players does matter when it comes to crunch situations. "We have really valued experience. MS (Dhoni) and I are on the same wavelength that experience counts. We have a multi-skilled team in our ranks… That, to us, is very important as it gives us options throughout the course of the season. Around the world, the experienced players have always been consistent," Fleming said in a press release.

The franchises were required to inform the IPL Governing Council of their retention and release of players by Thursday, ahead of the player auction for IPL-12 scheduled to be held next month. With an additional Rs 2 crore made available to the franchises this season, CSK will now go into the auctions with a purse of Rs 8.5 crore approximately after they managed to save Rs 6.5 crore from last season.