Chennai Super Kings is back in IPL 2018 after being banned for a couple of years.  However, the ban has not dented the fan base of the franchise. The love for 'thala' aka MS Dhoni can be seen when he takes on the ground during the practice session at the Chepauk stadium. Given the fact, there is a major shift in the squad of the team, CSK will have a lot to prove in order to win their third title. Here are 5 major hurdles that the Super Kings could face this IPL.

Getting rid of spot fixer’s tag

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Considering the fact that, Chennai Super Kings was in the news for spot-fixing allegations which also brought MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina under the microscope, it wouldn’t be easy for the team to get rid of the tag. Regardless of what the result is, there could be preconceived notions about the players owing to the spot-fixing saga.

The inclusion of many senior players

The team clearly opted for experience over youth. On one hand, where one cannot discount the importance of experience in T20, the average age of the players exceeds 30. This somewhere down the line could prove to be one of the biggest challenge for the yellow army as young players are vital for any squad.

MS Dhoni’s poor captaincy Record for Rising Pune Supergiant

Mahendra Singh Dhoni led the Rising Pune Supergiant only for one season in 2016 and he clearly could not get the right combination for the squad. They ended up on position no 7 and Dhoni faced a massive backlash for the same. Later in 2017, Steve Smith stepped into the shoes of Dhoni and the team reached the finals.

Over-dependence on spin bowling

With Ravindra Jadeja, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, and Mitchell Santner getting listed under the spin bowling department, team CSK heavily relies on these names. Their home ground Chepauk has always supported spin bowling, but the Super Kings could face hiccups in stadiums like Wankhede.

Inexperienced pace battery

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This is one of the major reasons that Chennai Super Kings will have to rely on the spinners. The team does have Shardul Thakur with an international experience but other than him, Deepak Chahar is only a few IPL matches old. This obviously leads us to contemplate if the team can win games on seamer-friendly wickets.

Only time will tell if Dhoni & Co can rule out the hurdles and once again reclaim their lost glory in the IPL 2018.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 28, 2018 04:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).