New Delhi, Delhi, India

The eleventh edition of the IPL will commence with the clash of titans. Two-time champions Chennai will take on defending champions Mumbai today evening.

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Chennai, considered to be one of the most powerful T20 franchises, is making its return to the cash-rich tournament after serving the two-year suspension.

Let's take a look at the Dhoni-led new squad, its strength and weaknesses ahead of the opener.

Strengths

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The team management tried to retain the core group which includes MS Dhoni (15 cr) Suresh Raina (11 cr) and Ravindra Jadeja (7 cr).

Faf Du Plessis and Dwayne Bravo are the other two talents the team posses.

Shane Watson also has plenty of experience under his belt for the shortest format. 

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CSK made up for the loss of losing Ashwin by buying Imran Tahir and veteran Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh.

Weaknesses

CSK have plenty of options in the spin department, but they lack serious firepower as far as pace bowling is concerned.

The squad has two all-rounders in Dwayne Bravo and Shane Watson who will bowl medium pace.

Only Shardul Thakur and Dwayne Bravo and have considerable experience of playing in the IPL.

Here is the complete squad list 

Venue: M.A. Chidambaram Stadium

Retained:

MS Dhoni (15 cr)

Suresh Raina (11 cr)

Ravindra Jadeja (7 cr)

Purchased:

Faf du Plessis (1.5 cr), Harbhajan Singh (2 cr), Dwayne Bravo (6.4 cr), Shane Watson (4 cr), Kedar Jadhav (7.8 cr), Ambati Rayudu (2.2 cr), Imran Tahir (1 cr), Karn Sharma (5 cr), Shardul Thakur (2.6 Cr), Jagadeesan Narayan (20L), Mitchell Santner (50L), Deepak Chahar (80L), KM Asif (40L), Lungi Ngidi (50 L), Kanishk Seth (20L), Dhruv Shorey (20L), M Vijay (2 cr), Sam Billings (1 cr), Mark Wood (1.5 cr), Kshitiz Sharma (20 L), Monu Singh (20L), Chaitanya Bishnoi (20L)