Chennai Super Kings is undoubtedly the most consistent franchise in the history of the IPL. They have made it to the second round of the tournament in every season that they have played.
MS Dhoni has been one of the main reasons behind the team’s success. The Ranchi-based wicket-keeper batsman, who led the Indian team to the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ICC World Cup wins, has helped CSK win three titles.
His mantra to success has been to retain the core. Nicknamed as ‘Thala,’ Dhoni rarely makes any changes to his match squad. He has a fixed set of 12-15 players, who feature in the XI as per the weather and pitch conditions. The team also has some backup options, which are used when there is an injury concern.
However, there have been occasions where a player kept on warming the bench for the entire season while at CSK. Here’s a list of the six talented players whom CSK purchased but did not include them in the playing XI.
6.Kyle Abbott
South African speedster Kyle Abbott made a name for himself with his fast bowling skills. He had become a death overs specialist, which attracted the team management of Chennai towards him. Abbott warmed the bench for CSK in 2015 before moving to Punjab in 2016. The team management preferred to have Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Faf du Plessis, and Dwayne Bravo as their foreign players.
5.Akila Dananjaya
Sri Lanka’s spin bowler Akila Dananjaya had made his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians a few years ago. However, back in 2013, he was signed by Chennai Super Kings in the auction. He could have achieved a lot of success on the spinning tracks of Chepauk. Still, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja’s consistency never allowed Dhoni to think of giving Dananjaya a chance.
