The term ‘baap of IPL’ means the most dominant and successful team of the IPL, which is led by the most successful captain. Undoubtedly the ‘baap of IPL’ is none other than Chennai Super Kings, led by MS Dhoni.
Chennai Super Kings had played 10 finals out of the 14 IPL editions. It has won 5 titles, joint highest along with Mumbai Indians. All the titles have been won under the captaincy and leadership of MS Dhoni.
The Unparalleled Legacy
The journey started when the Indian Premier League began in 2008, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, also known as Captain Cool, made his debut for the Chennai Super Kings. During the first IPL player auction, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) paid a record $1.5 million to acquire him. And as a result, he became the most expensive player in the league in the first season. The reason would be his calm mind and leadership skills since he won the inaugural ICC T-20 World Cup in 2008.
Achievements and Milestones
- CSK is the team to feature in the most number of finals – 10
- CSK along with Mumbai Indians is the team to win the joint most number of IPL titles -5.
- CSK has a record of 4th highest team total in the history of IPL.
- Dwayne Bravo, former CSK player has a record of taking joint most no. of wickets in an IPL season along with Harshal Patel.
- Albie Morkel, former CSK all-rounder has a record of hitting the longest six in the history of IPL.
- CSK registered a new record to its name as it became a team to score most n. of 200s as a team. It has scored 23 times followed by RCB with 21 times.
Dominating Performance
CSK’s winning strategy has been ‘to make things simpler’. CSK has qualified for the playoffs in each season except 2 times. This shows how dominant it has been. CSK’s strategies are clear that what it wants from a particular player. Each player is given a specific role to perform on the field. Besides this, CSK is always clear at the time of the auction. It mostly invests in players with experience and some uncapped youngsters. CSK also, nurture and groom youngsters like Deepak Chahar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Matheesha Pathirana Shivam Dube, etc. and make them ready for the Indian side.
In the 2018 season when CSK returned after 2 years of suspension, it was considered to be the weakest team after the auction. It was known as “Daddy’s Army”. Still, it managed to lift the title with that team. Some top performances of the CSK players in 2018 are –
- Bravo 68(30) vs. Mumbai
- Sam Billings 56(23) vs. KKR
- Dhoni 79(44) vs. KXIP , 70(34) vs. RCB, 51(22) vs. DD
- Watson 106(57) vs. RR and 78(40) vs. DD and 117(57)vs. SRH
- Rayudu 79(37) vs. SRH , 82(53) vs. RCB, 41(24) vs DD, 100(62) vs SRH
- Raina 75(47) and 61(48)vs K11
- Ngidi 10/4 vs KXIP
- Faf 67(42) vs SRH in Qualifier 1
| Year | Total | Wins | Losses | Win% | Position | Summary |
| 2023 | 16 | 10 | 5 | 62.50% 1st | ||
| 2022 | 14 | 4 | 10 | 28.57% | 9th | League Stage |
| 2021 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 68.75% | 1st | Champions |
| 2020 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 42.85% | 7th | League Stage |
| 2019 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 58.82% | 2nd | Runners-up |
| 2018 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 68.75% | 1st | Champions |
| 2015 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 58.82% | 2nd | Runners-up |
| 2014 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 62.50% | 3rd | 2nd Runners-up |
| 2013 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 66.66% | 2nd | Runners-up |
| 2012 | 19 | 10 | 8 | 52.63% | 2nd | Runners-up |
| 2011 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 68.75% | 1st | Champions |
| 2010 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 56.25% | 1st | Champions |
| 2009 | 15 | 8 | 6 | 53.33% | 4th | 3rd Runners-up |
| 2008 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 56.25% | 2nd | Runners-up |
| Total | 226 | 131 | 91 | 57.96 | 5 times champion |
Fan Base and Cultural Impact
CSK is a team with one of the largest and most loyal fan bases in India. Even if CSK is playing an away game, it always feels like it’s a home game as people in yellow jerseys are spread across the stadium. Some reasons why CSK has such a large fan base –
- Maintaining Core – CSK is a franchise that believes in supporting its core team and not making many changes. It is the only team in history that has been captained by a single player in all the seasons.
- Tamil identity – Whistle Podu composed by Aravind Murali and Jaishankar Iyer is the Chennai Super Kings’ theme song. The entire song lyrics are in Tamil accompanied by an entertaining video of dappangutthu, a form of local street dance. Even in ads or tweets or any interaction with the fans, CSK has constantly tried to hold on to the local cultural flavor.
- Spirited Social Media – Their accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram posts are very engaging and innovative. Chennai Super Kings have 11.9 million followers on Facebook, 4 million followers on Twitter, and 5 million on Instagram. The language used again is a mix of Tamil and English.
- Mahendra Singh Dhoni – Thala – MS Dhoni was the most expensive player of the inaugural IPL player auction. CSK franchise acquired him by paying $ 1.5 million. After that CSK became one of the best and strongest sides of the IPL and Dhoni was like a adopted son of Chennai.
Rivalries and Memorable Matches
CSK has an arch-rival Mumbai Indians. Since both teams are the most successful ones, their rivalry is the best in the league. It is also known as the ‘El Classico’ of the IPL.
| Total wins | In Chennai | In Mumbai | Neutral Venue | |
| MI Won | 21 | 5 | 8 | 8 |
| CSK Won | 17 | 3 | 7 | 7 |
| Total Matches | 38 | 8 | 15 | 15 |
Legacy and Future Prospects
The legacy created by MS Dhoni is unmatched and can never be beaten. However, MS is 41 years old and unlikely to play the next season, CSK has some players to lead. Potentially, it can be Ravindra Jadeja, Ben Stokes, and Moeen Ali. Another option that CSK has for long-term prospects is to make the young gun Ruturaj Gaikwad the captain.
There will be lots of challenges faced by the CSK franchise as most of its players are age 33 or above and unsure of their availability. So they have to form a young core team as soon as possible along with a dependable captain.
