Chennai Super Kings have bolstered their ranks with the addition of England's star all-rounder Ben Stokes ahead of the 2023 IPL season.
CSK are one of the most successful franchises in IPL history, with four titles coming among nine final appearances and 11 playoff campaigns.
However, they finished second-bottom in 2022, leaving long-serving coach Stephen Fleming and veteran captain MS Dhoni to ponder a rebuilding job this time around.
Here's all you need to about CSK as they bid for the top honours once again.
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CSK IPL stats
Here is a full season-by-season breakdown of Chennai Super Kings' performances in the IPL.
| Year | P | W | L | T | NR | Win % | Position |
| 2008 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 56.25 | Runners-up |
| 2009 | 15 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 53.33 | 4th |
| 2010 | 16 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 59.38 | Winners |
| 2011 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 68.75 | Winners |
| 2012 | 19 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 52.63 | Runners-up |
| 2013 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 | Runners-up |
| 2014 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 62.5 | 3rd |
| 2015 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 58.82 | Runners-up |
| 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2018 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 68.75 | Winners |
| 2019 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 58.82 | Runners-up |
| 2020 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 42.85 | 7th |
| 2021 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 68.75 | Winners |
| 2022 | 14 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 28.25 | 9th |
| Total | 210 | 121 | 86 | 1 | 2 | 57.86 | x4 Winners |
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CSK IPL history
An all-star roster led by Dhoni, including the likes of Matthew Hayden and Muttiah Muralitharan went all the way to the final in 2008, where they were beaten by three wickets in a final-ball thriller against Shane Warne’s unfancied Rajasthan Royals.
Fleming replaced Kepler Wessels as coach and Hayden averaged 52 over the course of the tournament before they lost by six wickets to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the semifinals.
After those two near misses, CSK were champions in 2010, Suresh Raina's brilliant 57 not out in the final inspiring a 22-run win against Mumbai Indians.
Chennai rounded off a stellar year by lifting the Champions League T20 before retaining their IPL title in 2011. RCB were hammered by 58 runs after Murali Vijay (95) and Mike Hussey (63) put together a gargantuan opening stand of 159.
That golden touch did not prove to be flawless as Chennai came up short in the 2012, 2013 and 2015 finals, leaving a sense of what might have been for the 2014 Champions League winners. On the latter two occasions, Mumbai Indians were the victors to tip the defining rivalry of the era in their favour, while Kolkata Knight Riders prevailed in 2012.
Far worse was to follow off the field when CSK's owners India Cements were suspended from the 2016 and 2017 seasons by the RM Lodha committee. Former Super Kings official Gurunath Meiyappan was also handed a life ban from cricket for his part in the 2013 spot-fixing and corruption scandal.
After sitting out those two seasons, Chennai returned in 2018, once again helmed by Fleming and Dhoni, who had taken their talents to Rising Pune Supergiant in the interim and finished as 2017 runners-up.
They were not to be denied in a sensational 2018 campaign, capped by Shane Watson plundering 117 not out in one of the great IPL innings to take down Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final.
Old foes Mumbai squeaked home by a single run in the 2019 final, when another Watson masterpiece set up an unlikely shot at glory. Chennai were runners-up despite finishing with an overall return of 10 wins and seven losses from their 17 matches, showing their aptitude for the big moments even when everything was not firing on all cylinders.
A transition away from that much-loved but ageing line-up has yielded mixed results over recent years, with two second-bottom finishes in 2020 and 2022 — comfortably their worst overall efforts in franchise history — split by a title-winning run in 2021. Faf du Plessis' 86 from 59 balls and Shardul Thakur's 3/38 were to the fore as a collapsing Kolkata Knight Riders were seen off in that final.
CSK IPL 2023 schedule
CSK kick off their 2023 IPL campaign on the road against reigning champions Gujarat Titans in the tournament's first match.
Here is the full group schedule that Dhoni and his teammates will have to negotiate.
Chennai Super Kings 2023 IPL schedule
| Date | Opponent | Result |
| Mar 31 | Gujarat Titans (A) | Lost by 5 wickets |
| April 3 | Lucknow Super Giants (H) | Won by 12 runs |
| April 8 | Mumbai Indians (A) | — |
| April 12 | Rajasthan Royals (H) | — |
| April 17 | Royal Challengers Bangalore (A) | — |
| April 21 | Sunrisers Hyderabad (H) | — |
| April 23 | Kolkata Knight Riders (A) | — |
| April 27 | Rajasthan Royals (A) | — |
| April 30 | Punjab Kings (H) | — |
| May 4 | Lucknow Super Giants (A) | — |
| May 6 | Mumbai Indians (H) | — |
| May 10 | Delhi Capitals (H) | — |
| May 14 | Kolkata Knight Riders (H) | — |
| May 21 | Delhi Capitals (A) | — |
CSK IPL squad 2023
The most notable absentee from the Super Kings squad for 2023 is West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo. The IPL's all-time leading wicket-taker retired after last season. He will start a new role as CSK bowling coach.
Ravindra Jadeja is still around in a playing capacity despite a tumultuous 2022 and is likely to remain vital for Stephen Fleming's side.
| Player | Role | Age | Auction Price | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ajinkya Rahane | Batter | 34 | IND 50 lakhs ($60,000) | India |
| Devon Conway | Batter | 31 | IND 100 lakhs ($121,000) | New Zealand |
| Subhranshu Senapati | Batter | 26 | IND 20 lakhs ($24,000) | India |
| Ruturaj Gaikwad | Batter | 26 | IND 600 lakhs ($731,000) | India |
| Shaik Rasheed | Batter | 18 | IND 20 lakhs ($24,000) | India |
| MS Dhoni | WK-Batter | 41 | IND 1200 lakhs ($1.46m) | India |
| Ambati Rayudu | WK-Batter | 37 | IND 675 lakhs ($823,000) | India |
| Moeen Ali | All-rounder | 35 | IND 800 lakhs ($975,000) | England |
| Ravindra Jadeja | All-rounder | 34 | IND 1600 lakhs ($1.95m) | India |
| Dwaine Pretorius | All-rounder | 33 | IND 50 lakhs ($60,000) | South Africa |
| Ben Stokes | All-rounder | 31 | IND 1625 lakhs ($1.98m) | England |
| Mitchell Santner | All-rounder | 31 | IND 190 lakhs ($231,000) | New Zealand |
| Shivam Dube | All-rounder | 29 | IND 400 lakhs ($487,000) | India |
| Ajay Mandal | All-rounder | 27 | IND 20 lakhs ($24,000) | India |
| Bhagath Varma | All-rounder | 24 | IND 20 lakhs ($24,000) | India |
| Rajvardhan Hangargekar | All-rounder | 20 | IND 150 lakhs ($182,000) | India |
| Nishant Sindhu | All-rounder | 18 | IND 60 lakhs ($73,000) | India |
| Deepak Chahar | Seamer | 30 | IND 1400 lakhs ($1.7m) | India |
| Tushar Deshpande | Seamer | 27 | IND 20 lakhs ($24,000) | India |
| Mukesh Choudhary | Seamer | 26 | IND 20 lakhs ($24,000) | India |
| Simarjeet Singh | Seamer | 25 | IND 20 lakhs ($24,000) | India |
| Matheesha Pathirana | Seamer | 20 | IND 20 lakhs ($24,000) | Sri Lanka |
| Prashant Solanki | Spinner | 23 | IND 120 lakhs ($146,000) | India |
| Maheesh Theekshana | Spinner | 22 | IND 70 lakhs ($85,000) | Sri Lanka |
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