When one talks of brand valuation with reference to IPL, Chennai Super Kings is one team which is number one. It has the highest priced player in the form of Indian captain Mahender Singh Dhoni, and mercurial batsman Mathew Hayden opening the batting. Besides, one of the finest brains in international cricket, Stephen Fleming, and Kepler Wessels form the core think team for Chennai Super Kings. The middle order is provided strength by Suresh Raina and Andrew Morkel, while in the bowling department the shinning star for the team is Muthaiya Muralitharan. Incidentally, in the previous season it had the unique distinction of having bagged the highest prized player Andrew Flintoff, it is altogether a different matter that his services could not be utilized in full.

The team is owned by Indian Cements and other sponsors for the team include Sprite, Boomer, Peter England, Reebok and Aircel. It was the team which also did the cat walk in the inaugural season and it created a flutter in the heart of the fans. It is the most valuable team in the current season, its brand value pegged at more than Rs. 224 crores.

New additions in the team for the current year are South African Justin Kemp and Sri Lankan Thissara Perrera. In an interesting brand building for the team its most important member, Mathew Hayden decided to join the A R Rehman concert in Chennai to express solidarity with his adapted home, Chennai, for four months, and by doing this he gave a strong message to the racist campaign going on against the Indians in Australia. One can even say that after his association with Chennai Super Kings, Mat Hayden has indeed become one of the best brand ambassadors of Indian mystique in Australia, and indeed he is leaving no stone unturned to prove it. Hayden took up the cudgels even against Ricky Ponting in a recent Australian players meeting when Ponting raised the security issue to prepare a case for Australian players non-participation in the 3rd season of IPL.

Chennai Super Kings is one of the teams that do not have a glamour quotient but it is more than compensated by the presence of mercurial Shiv Mani, one of the most mercurial percussionist players in the world, who just electrifies the audience with his non-stop solo performance on the drum and other associated acoustic instruments. Chennai Super Kings has been among the top four teams in IPL so far, can it emerge winner this time around?