Chennai Super Kings is arguably the most popular franchise in the Indian Premier League and certainly the most successful. This team, despite having played two fewer seasons than many of their contemporaries, has the joint-most IPL titles with five. They also have the most playoff qualifications with 12.
A team with such a deep and successful history, naturally, has some of the greatest players to ever play the sport donning their colours in the past and the present. Today, we will discuss some of the greatest CSK players of all time.
Before naming some of CSK’s best players ever, let’s discuss how we will conduct this exercise. For that, we need to know what Mount Rushmore is. Most of you would know that Mount Rushmore is one of the most iconic monuments in the USA. On a mountain, the faces of four of the greatest American presidents have been carved.
Keeping in mind the honouring of the “four greatest” in any field, making a Rushmore in any situation means discussing and recognising four of the greatest people/things in any field.
So when we set out to discuss the Mount Rushmore of CSK players, it means to name the four greatest players in franchise history. These players might have won this team titles, may have the best stats for this team, or have a deep emotional connection with the fans. To be one of the best players for the Chennai Super Kings, one must have all three.
But first, some honourable mentions—
Faf du Plessis played seven seasons for the Super Kings between 2012 and 2021. He is the third-highest run scorer in franchise history and won two titles with them.
Ravichandran Ashwin made his IPL debut with Chennai. With spectacular performances with that team, he went on to play for India and become a legend of the sport. Ashwin has taken 127 wickets for this team, the third-highest in franchise history in nine seasons, and won two titles with them.
Michael Hussey started his IPL stint in 2008 with CSK. By that time, he was already in the twilight of his iconic cricket career. The Aussie played seven seasons for this team between 2008 and 2015, scored over 2000 runs at an average of over 40, and won the Orange Cap in 2013.
Now it’s time to meet the Mount Rushmore of CSK players in the IPL –
Greatest CSK Players Of All Time
1) MS Dhoni
The names Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Chennai Super Kings have been nearly synonymous for 18 years now. The most successful franchise in the biggest T20 league in the world and the most successful Indian captain ever came together to make the most successful duo ever seen in cricket.
Dhoni was the most expensive player in the auction before the inaugural 2008 auction. The then-recent T20 World Cup-winning captain was brought in by CSK and made team captain. He proved the team’s decision correct right away, taking Chennai into the final that season.
In 2010 and 2011, the Super Kings became the first IPL team to win consecutive titles. In fact, till their two-year suspension in 2016 and 2017, CSK, under the leadership of MSD, had made it to the playoffs each season.
This success continued in the team’s return season, as they won their third trophy in 2018. Then, after their first bad season in 2020, this team made a comeback and won it all in 2021, before doing so again in 2023, all under Dhoni.
The 44-year-old spent much of his cricketing career under the banner of the Super Kings. He went from a young captain to a legend to retiring while playing for the five-time champs. In fact, Dhoni is one of only four players to have played all the IPL seasons.
While he spent two years with the Rising Pune Supergiants in 2016-17, for all the time CSK has been in this league, MS Dhoni has been with them.
Dhoni has played the most IPL matches for any player, has by far the most dismissals for a wicketkeeper with 201, and has scored the second-most runs in franchise history, having made over 5000 runs at an average of over 38, despite coming in to bat at the death mostly.
The most iconic face in franchise history, their one true captain, and one of, if not the best players in team history, it is no wonder that Thala belongs in the list of greatest CSK players of all time.
Check Out: CSK Best Players
2) Suresh Raina
From Thala to Chinna Thala. Any Chennai Super Kings discussion is incomplete without Suresh Raina, the greatest batter in the history of the franchise.
Like MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina was bought by the CSK ahead of IPL 2008. That season, he was the team’s highest run scorer, making 421 in 16 games. In fact, in the first seven seasons of the Indian Premier League, Raina was the only player to make over 400 runs in each season. This resulted in him being given the name “Mr. IPL.”
The former Indian Cricket Team player played 11 seasons with CSK. During that time, he made 5529 runs for the franchise in 200 matches at an average of over 33. He also scored two centuries and 38 half-centuries in that time. He is by far the highest run scorer in the history of this team.
Raina was also a solid extra bowling option. Known to break dangerous partnerships, the UP-based player also has 38 wickets for the Chennai Super Kings.
Suresh Raina has won four IPL trophies with CSK. For much of his time with the team, he was the vice-captain and the right-hand man of MS Dhoni. The immense love and respect the Super Kings fans have for Raina speaks for itself, making him yet another obvious choice for this Mount Rushmore.
3) Ravindra Jadeja
Ravindra Jadeja is arguably the greatest all-rounder in IPL history. And much of the time he spent in the league was with the Chennai Super Kings, making his inclusion in this list an essential one. But we will expand upon it.
Jadeja started his IPL career in 2008 with the Rajasthan Royals, a team he would return to in 2026. Having tasted success in his very first season, he would end up joining CSK in 2012, after the team had already won two titles.
In Chennai, Jadeja would receive the honourary honourific of ‘Sir’ before his name, which is what the fans started calling him. That would be because he established himself as an absolute clutch player for CSK, pulling the team out of sticky situations with bat, ball, and his world-class fielding. This proves the deep connection the fans of the franchise have with him.
‘Jaddu’ would not win his first IPL trophy with CSK till 2018, after the team came back from a two-year ban, in which time he played for the short-lived Gujarat Lions. He would also go on to win two more IPL titles with Chennai in 2021 and 2023, bringing the total to three.
That 2023 final against the Gujarat Titans would be a memorable one for Jadeja, as he hit a four and a six on the last two balls of the match to, once again, clutch up for his team.
Ravindra Jadeja has the eighth most wickets in the IPL with 176. 152 of those wickets he took for the Chennai Super Kings, the second highest in team history. He is also the fifth-highest run scorer for CSK, having made 2384 runs in 200 matches while batting lower down the order.
Check Out: CSK Best Players
4) Dwayne Bravo
Last but not least in the list of greatest CSK players is West Indies T20 legend Dwayne Bravo, the greatest and most successful bowler in franchise history. He is also one of the greatest overseas players to set foot in this league.
Bravo started his IPL career in 2008 with the Mumbai Indians before moving to the Super Kings in 2011. In his very first season, he helped the team win their second title in a row.
While a recognised all-rounder, who also scored over 1200 runs for CSK, Bravo is known for being a reliably great bowler every night. The man who revolutionised T20 bowling with his signature slower ones. Not the fastest bowler in the world by any means, the Trinidadian cricketer could deceive any batter in the world with his pace variations.
Bravo won three IPL trophies with CSK in 2011, 2018, and 2021. He is also by far the highest wicket-taker in team history, with 180 scalps in just 130 matches. That also makes him the seventh-highest IPL wicket-taker.
Not only was Dwayne a phenomenon on the field, but he has also been a massive part of the team’s culture. A musician on the side, his iconic ‘Champion’ song not only became a popular track among CSK fans but also forced the cricketing world to spread their arms and move their feet.
He also became the Super Kings’ bowling coach for two seasons in 2023 and 2024, the former of which the team won. He mentored bowlers like Tushar Deshpande into improving their game. Deshpande won the Purple Cap in 2023 under Bravo’s tutelage.
Dwayne Bravo is an intrinsic part of Chennai Super Kings’ history on and off the field, making him a prime candidate to be the CSK Mount Rushmore and making him one of the IPL greatest players.
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