In the IPL 2023, former Chennai Super Kings star Suresh Raina selected his best team, leaving out MS Dhoni. Raina, who achieved great success with CSK and won four titles, appointed Gujarat Titans’ captain, Hardik Pandya, as the team’s captain, instead of Dhoni.
Raina’s choice for wicketkeeper-batter was Nicholas Pooran from the West Indies, who represents the Lucknow Super Giants. The opening positions were assigned to Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, while Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, and Rinku Singh filled the middle order.
The remaining spots in the XI were filled by Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Yuzvendra Chahal. Raina also named substitute players for his team, including Cameron Green, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Jitesh Sharma, Matheesha Pathirana, and Yash Thakur.
During an interactive session on JioCinema with host Aakash Chopra and experts Parthiv Patel and Zaheer Khan, Raina unveiled his selection for the best XI of IPL 2023. Interestingly, Parthiv Patel also excluded MS Dhoni from his team, while Zaheer Khan included the seasoned CSK player as the captain of his preferred XI.
In the current IPL season, under the leadership of Dhoni, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) advanced to the final after a 15-run victory over Hardik-led Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Qualifier 1. GT secured the top spot on the table with 20 points from 14 matches, while CSK finished in second place with 17 points from 14 matches.
Meanwhile, the Mumbai Indians defeated the Lucknow Super Giants by 81 runs in the Eliminator, setting up a clash with GT in the Qualifier 2. The winner of this match will face CSK in the final of the tournament.