Chennai Super Kings is the Chennai based franchise of the Indian Premier League. The team is led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, currently the captain of the Indian cricket team, and coached by Stephen Fleming. The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium (often referred to as Chepauk) is the Super Kings' home ground. The Chennai Super Kings are a part of the eight club Indian Premier League. The franchise is owned by India Cements, who paid US$91 million to acquire the rights to the franchise for the next 10 years. N. Srinivasan who is the Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of India Cements Ltd., is the defacto owner of the Chennai Super Kings, by means of his position within the company. He is also the Secretary of the BCCI. Krishnamachari Srikkanth, former captain of the Indian Cricket Team, is the brand ambassador for the franchise, and former Indian opener V. B. Chandrasekhar is the Chief Selector. The star ambassador for the team is the Tamil film star, Vijay. Film actress Nayantara was initially appointed as a co-brand ambassador, but was later fired as she was unable to meet the commitments of regular match appearances. The name "Super Kings" honours the rulers of the golden era of Tamil culture. The team logo, a Lion, was the insignia of the Pallava dynasty which ruled Southern India including the areas that constitute present day Chennai. In terms of branding, the name "Super Kings" possibly refers to 'Coromandel King super grade cement', a brand of cement promoted by the India Cements Group. Incidentally the Chennai based team playing in the ICL (the rebel league) are called the "Chennai Superstars". Chennai Super Kings are one of the three franchises with no icon player. The lack of an icon player benefited the Super Kings during the bidding as they managed to bid successfully on two (Dhoni & Muralitharan) of the six A listed players. In February 2009, the Chennai Super Kings of the Indian Premier League bought Andrew Flintoff for USD1,550,000 which was a good $600,000 above his base price of $950,000. This makes him the highest paid IPL player along with compatriot Kevin Pietersen surpassing Mahendra Singh Dhoni's $1,500,000. The current sponsors include Aircel and Reebok.Pepsi has been signed up as the on-field pouring partner. For 2009 season, Apart from Aircel, Reebok and Peter England, CSK has joined hands with Pepsi (7Up and Lays), Nivea, Wrigley痴, Johnson & Johnson, Big Bazaar, Fosters, the Australian beer brand, and makemytrip.com. The Super Kings had a solid start to their 2008 IPL Season, winning their first 4 matches. However, their top order and bowling attack took a hit after Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey and Jacob Oram left the team for international duty. The team's performance reflected this, as they proceeded to lose their next 3 matches. The batting, although inconsistent, eventually adjusted to the losses of Hayden and Hussey with contributions from Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Albie Morkel. The gap in the team痴 bowling left by Oram痴 departure was eventually filled by the arrival of Makhaya Ntini and Morkel (both of whom were playing the Pro20 domestic tournament in South Africa during the start of the tournament) and the emergence of Manpreet Gony. A win in the final league match against the Deccan Chargers ensured their progress into the semi-finals. The team defeated the Kings XI Punjab in the semifinal by 9 wickets. They lost the final to Rajasthan Royals by three wickets off the last ball. Apart from Andrew Flintoff,the new players who have been signed up for the 2009 season are Thilan Thushara from Srilanka,George Bailey from Tasmania,Australiaand Murali Vijay,the Tamilnadu batsman who played for India in a single Test in Nagpur against Australia in 2008.Sudeep Tyagi, who missed the 2008 season,due to injury makes a comeback this year. Jacob Oram has opted out of the 2009 season on account of injury. Michael Hussey, one of the stars of the 2008 season,has opted out to take some rest to be fit for the T20 World Cup 2009 and subsequently the Ashes. However Hussey has expressed that he would be available if Chennai make it to the semi finals of the IPL.
