Indian T20 League 2023: 3 overseas players who could be vital for Chennai's success

The Indian T20 League 2023 is just weeks away as the tournament will kick off right after the conclusion of the Border-Gavaskar trophy against Australia slated on February 9. One of the teams that enjoyed a great day at the office during the mini-auction was the four-time champions Chennai team led by MS Dhoni.

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For the unversed, the Chennai franchise had a dismal outing in 2022 and they would be hoping to turn things around, in what can be Dhoni’s last-ever Indian T20 League season. We decided to handpick three overseas players who could be vital for Chennai’s success and be game-changer in the upcoming series. 

Here are the three overseas players who would be vital for Chennai’s success in the Indian T20 League 2023: 

3) Maheesh Theekshana

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Maheesh Theekshana (Image Source: Twitter)

Maheesh Theekshana enjoyed a great run at the Chennai camp last year and to his delight, the spinner from Sri Lanka was retained for the approaching season as well. Given that the matches shall take place at the Chepauk stadium this year, Theekshana would be pivotal for the team. 

Known for its spin and turn, the Lankan Lions star would hope to hunt the batters and take them down, crowning the team at their home stadium once again. Theekshana’s spin and partnership-breaking ability might come in handy for the Dhoni-led team. 

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2) Moeen Ali

Moeen Ali (Image Source: Twitter)

Moeen Ali was roped into the Chennai team in 2021 and since then, the allrounder has been effective in the middle overs with the bat. Coming down at Number 3, Ali has become a perfect replacement for veteran Suresh Raina who is no longer a part of the squad, although he is still considered a part of the family. 

Ali, known for his ability to smack the ball, has played a few handy knocks in the past for the franchise and no surprise that he would be hoping to contribute at Chennai’s forte this time around. Hoping for a turnaround, the English southpaw will have to step up and play the anchoring role in the middle-overs. 

1) Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes (Image Source: Twitter)

Ever since Dwayne Bravo was released from the squad and with the West Indies star announcing his retirement, Chennai’s think tank going for a pace allrounder was evident. The team management was left with three choices from Sam Curran, Ben Stokes and Jason Holder to pick. As one could expect, they bid for all three and succeeded in roping the English Test captain. 

Being roped in for a whopping INR 16.5 crore, Stokes became the highest bid by the Chennai franchise in their auction history and one could understand that he would be playing all of the matches. Considered a potential replacement for captaincy, Stokes’ contribution would be most-important and one could predict that Chennai are going to have a cracker of a tournament with a pretty strong squad.