IPL 2021 to see THIS massive tournament first after 13 seasons involving MS Dhoni

The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) is all set to get underway on Friday, April 9. The tournament opener will see defending champions Mumbai Indians locking horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore in Chennai. The IPL 2021 is going to see a lot of firsts like no home advantage, the introduction of neutral venues, an absence of crowd in Indian stadiums during the IPL among other things.

IPL 2021: Four wicket-keepers to lead IPL franchises for first time

It will also be the first time in the league's history that four wicket-keepers would lead their franchises in an IPL season. The four stumpers are MS Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings), Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals), Rishabh Pant (Delhi Capitals) and KL Rahul (Punjab Kings). Notably, all of them will start their IPL 2021 campaign in Mumbai.

MS Dhoni is the most experienced captain of the four as he has been leading CSK since the lucrative league's inception in 2008. The Indian veteran has led CSK to three IPL titles in 2010, 2011 and 2018. Punjab Kings skipper KL Rahul also has the experience of leading an IPL franchise. He led Punjab in IPL 2020 where they finished in the sixth position.

On the other hand, Rishabh Pant was recently appointed the Delhi Capitals captain 2021. The reason behind Pant's appointment as Delhi Capitals captain 2021 was regular skipper Shreyas Iyer's shoulder injury that ruled him out of the cricketing extravaganza. Sanju Samson who will lead the Royals will also be leading an IPL franchise for the first time. The Kerala based cricketer replaced Steve Smith after he was released by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2021 auction. It will be interesting to see how the two youngsters lead their respective sides.

CSK IPL 2021 schedule

Meanwhile, according to the CSK IPL 2021 schedule, the 'Dad's Army' will take on Delhi Capitals in their opening match of the IPL 2021 on Saturday, April 10 in Mumbai. The CSK vs DC game will get underway at 7:30 PM (IST). The CSK team 2021 will play their first five matches in Mumbai, followed by four in Delhi, three in Bengaluru and the last two games in Kolkata.

CSK squad

CSK players retained

MS Dhoni (Captain), Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, N. Jagadeesan, Robin Uthappa, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo, Karn Sharma, R. Sai Kishore, Mitchell Santner, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi, Josh Hazlewood, KM Asif.

CSK players bought at IPL 2021 auction

Moeen Ali (₹7 crore), K Gowtham (₹9.25 crore), Cheteshwar Pujara (₹50 lakh), M Harisankar Reddy (₹20 lakh), K. Bhagath Varma (₹20 lakh), C Hari Nishanth (₹20 lakh)

SOURCE: AP