By Niharika Raina

New Delhi, Mar 26 (IANS): Just two days before the start of IPL 2022, Chennai Super Kings dropped a bombshell when on Thursday Mahendra Singh Dhoni passed on the captaincy baton to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.

With a new man in charge, it would be interesting to see how the five-time winners perform in the league they have dominated since its inception.

IANS takes a look at the strengths and weaknesses of the defending champions.

Strength

Chennai's batting depth continues to be the envy of every team in the IPL. With Faf du Plessis in RCB now, and Moeen Ali unavailable for the tournament opener against KKR, Chennai can combine Robin Uthappa and last season's highest run-getter Ruturaj Gaikwad as the opening combination. Even New Zealand's Devon Conway can be a good option as an opener.

In the middle order, expect Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali and Shivam Dube to do the work apart from Dhoni in the mix. They also have local talents who have done well in domestic cricket, such as N. Jagadeesan and C. Hari Nishaanth.

Weakness

Deepak Chahar's muscle injury has thrown Chennai's bowling plans into disarray. Apart from his lower-order batting skills, Chahar has been a proven performer with his ability to swing the ball in the power-play overs. This leaves Chennai with no proven Indian pace option as Tushar Deshpande and Mukesh Choudhary are yet to prove their mettle in the IPL.

Dwayne Bravo, despite the wealth of experience, hasn't been at his best since retiring from international cricket. England pacer Chris Jordan has been leaking runs in the final five overs while Dwaine Pretorius has mostly been used in the same phase. Chennai also don't have a proven name in the leg-spin department, but they rarely used leg-spinners last year.

Opportunity

With no Chahar around, the void can be filled by Rajvardhan Hangargekar, who was roped in by Chennai for Rs 1.5 crore. His impressive seam bowling at around 140 kmph and hard-hitting shots in the slog overs were on display in India's victorious U-19 World Cup campaign earlier this year.

The IPL 2022 also presents an opportunity for Jadeja to establish his leadership credentials in his maiden stint as the captain of Chennai. With Dhoni handing over the mantle of captaincy to him, it serves as a nice chance for Jadeja, an all-rounder in his prime, to showcase his leadership abilities.

Threat

With no set timeline available for Chahar's return to the team, Chennai will be missing a player who's got them wickets up front for long. If they don't get a makeshift option for the first few games, they are in danger of leaking runs in the power-play.