IPL 2021: MS Dhoni presents CSK jersey to Chesteshwar Pujara and other new recruits, see pics

Pujara receives CSK's jersey from Dhoni (Source: Cheteshwar Pujara/ Twitter)

With only two days left for the beginning of the new edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021), Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni presented the official jersey of the team to all the newly added players to the squad including Cheteshwar Pujara.

The official Twitter handle of CSK on Wednesday (April 7) shared the pics of the event and captioned it, “Putting our paws together in welcoming freshers into the Superfam!”.

Putting our paws together in welcoming freshers into the #SuperFam! #WhistlePodu #Yellove pic.twitter.com/Noym2hbFB1 — Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) April 7, 2021

Meanwhile, Pujara said he was honoured to receive the official kit from Dhoni, adding that he is looking forward to a "great season" of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

"Excited and honoured to receive the official kit from @msdhoni bhai and the @ChennaiIPL family! Looking forward to a great season ahead #famlove #fresher #whistlepodu," Pujara tweeted.

Excited and honoured to receive the official kit from @msdhoni bhai and the @ChennaiIPL family! Looking forward to a great season ahead #famlove #fresher #whistlepodu pic.twitter.com/XfIkzgye54 — cheteshwar pujara (@cheteshwar1) April 7, 2021

Despite witnessing a dismal run in the last season, CSK will enter the 2021 edition of the tournament as one of the favourites, given the franchise's track record on Indian soil. Not to forget the experience the side has at its disposal.

The team will step into the new season with several changes as Shane Watson retired from all forms of cricket following last year's IPL while CSK opted not to retain Harbhajan Singh. Despite the absence of these two, CSK still has surfeit experience in the squad. Also, the Dhoni-led team will see the return of Suresh Raina, who had missed the last edition of the tournament. Raina's return will bolster the team's batting line-up.

In the mini-auction, held in February, CSK went all out for all-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham. The franchise bought the player for a whopping Rs 9.25 crore, making him the most expensive uncapped Indian player at the mini-auction. Also, in the absence of Harbhajan Singh, CSK had to add an experienced spinner to the team, and the team ironed that problem out with the addition of Moeen Ali.

In the mini-auction, the franchise also picked Pujara, who last played an IPL match in 2014, bringing the batsman on board for Rs 50 lakh.

CSK will play their first match of this season of IPL on April 10 against Delhi Capitals.

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS (CSK) FULL SQUAD AND PLAYERS LIST:

Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, N. Jagadeesan (wk), Robin Uthappa, MS Dhoni (c/wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo, Karn Sharma, R. Sai Kishore, Mitchell Santner, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi, KM Asif, Moeen Ali, K Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, M Harisankar Reddy, K. Bhagath Varma, C Hari Nishanth