The Best Combined XI Of CSK And Tamil Nadu SMAT 2021 Trophy Winning Teams

It has been a fine year for the state of Tamil Nadu in the game of cricket. While Chennai Super Kings won IPL 2021, Tamil Nadu defended the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this year as well. In this article, we take a look at the best-combined playing XI of CSK and Tamil Nadu SMAT 2021 Trophy-winning teams.

Over the past few years, Tamil Nadu has been a dominant force in domestic cricket. Of course, as we all know, CSK has won two trophies in the last four seasons and is an elite IPL franchise. In IPL 2022, we might witness a few Tamil Nadu boys getting a chance to play for CSK.

Openers: Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad

Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad will be the openers in this best-combined playing XI of CSK and Tamil Nadu SMAT 2021 Trophy-winning teams. N Jagadeesan and C Hari Nishanth were part of both the squads but in terms of performance, it is Faf and Rutu who rank higher. They finished as the Top 2 in the list of highest run-getters in IPL 2021. On the other hand, Jagadeesan struggled this season while Hari got to make a few big knocks in this campaign.

Middle-Order: Sai Sudarshan, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (C&WK), and Shahrukh Khan

It is the middle-order that will have a mix of the CSK and Tamil Nadu stars. Suresh Raina was not exceptional in IPL 2021 and hence, we have the young Tamil Nadu batsman Sai Sudarshan in place of him. The youngster is also a leftie and has a fine future ahead of him.

While Ambati Rayudu will retain his place, there can also be an argument to include Vijay Shankar, who actually did well for the team. MS Dhoni will be the captain and the wicket-keeper and Shahrukh Khan will act as the finisher. The latter's heroics helped Tamil Nadu win the final encounter and clinch the trophy.

All-Rounders: Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo

Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, and Dwayne Bravo will all be part of this best-combined playing XI of CSK and Tamil Nadu SMAT 2021 Trophy-winning teams. All are CSK cricketers and offer better balance and value to this combined XI. While Jaddu will have more to provide with the bat, Moeen Ali will also assume a similar responsibility. Dwayne Bravo has been more of a bowler in recent years, and he will lead the bowling attack of this XI. The likes of M Mohammed and R Sanjay Yadav did well for Tamil Nadu and could expect an IPL contract for the upcoming campaign.

Bowlers: R Sai Kishore and Deepak Chahar

R Sai Kishore has been with CSK for a couple of years now. He is a star performer for Tamil Nadu and Sai is certain to make his IPL debut in 2022. While he is majorly a spinner, Sai is also a useful batsman down the order. Deepak Chahar will be the second seamer in this XI. Assuming that this team will play most games at Chepauk, two-seamers is sufficient although there are options present if there is a need of a change.