Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings is a team representing the city of Chennai in the Indian Premier League. M.S. Dhoni is the team's captain who is also the skipper of Indian cricket team while Stephen Fleming of New Zealand is the team's coach. M.A. Chidambaram Stadium is Chennai Super King's home ground.

Cheenai Super Kings is owned by India Cements which paid $ 91 million to acquire its rights for the next ten years, from the IPL. The Vice-chairman and Managing Director of India Cements, N. Srinivasan, is the defacto owner of the team. He is also the secretary of BCCI.

While Krishnamachari Srikkanth, former captain of the Indian Cricket Team, is the brand ambassador for Chennai Super Kings, former Indian opener V. B. Chandrasekhar is its Chief Selector. Tamil film star, Vijay, is the team's star ambassabor. Initially film actress Nayantara was also appointed as a co-brand ambassador however she was sacked later for not being able to meet commitments of regular match appearances.

The name 'Super Kings' not only honors the golden era of Tamil culture but is also associated with the brand name - Coromandel King super grade cement - promoted by the India Cements Group.

Chennai Super Kings' team logo is a Lion which was the insignia of the Pallava dynasty that ruled Southern India including the areas that constitute present day Chennai.

Chennai Super Kings In 2008 IPL Season
The Chennai Super Kings had an impressive start in the inaugural season of IPL in 2008. The team won its first 4 matches. However, soon afterwards some of the foreign players - Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey and Jacob Oram - left the team to meet other international obligations. Their absence came as a blow to the team's top batting order and bowling attack which reflected on the team's performance. Chennai Super Kings lost their next three matches. Although the loss in batting order was met with good contributions from Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Albie Morkel, it was the team's bowling that suffered most as a result of Oram's departure.

However, with the arrival of Makhaya Ntini and Morkel (both of whom were playing the Pro20 domestic tournament in South Africa during the start of IPL tournament) and the emergence of Manpreet Gony, the bowling attack once again regained its strenghth. The Chennai Super Kings entered the semi-finals after defeating Deccan Chargers in the final league match. They played impressively against Kings XI Punjab in the semi-finals, making their way into the finals of IPL. In the finals, they lost to Rajasthan Royals by 3 wickets off the last ball, thus finishing second in the tournament.

Chennai Super Kings' Current Squad
1. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
2. Matthew Hayden
3. Suresh Raina
4. Michael Hussey
5. Anirudha Srikkanth
6. Subramaniam Badrinath
7. George Bailey
8. Arun Karthik
9. Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan
10. Abhinav Mukund
11. Murali Vijay
12. Andrew Flintoff
13. Jacob Oram
14. Albie Morkel
15. Parthiv Patel
16. Shadab Jakati
17. Viraj Kadbe
18. Suresh Kumar
19. Napolean Einstein
20. Muralitharan
21. Joginder Sharma
22. Makhaya Ntini
23. Thilan Thushara
24. Ravichandran Aswhin
25. Manpreet Gony
26. Laxmipathy Balaji
27. Palani Amarnath
28. Sudeep Tyagi

Support Staff:
1. Stephen Fleming - Coach
2. Gregory King - Trainer