Chennai Super Kings have hit the ground running, MS Dhoni took centre stage and the crowd erupted as he sauntered out to bat. Suresh Raina was also a crowd favourite as there were 12,000 fans thronging the MA Chidambaram stadium as their hit took part in a practice game.

Well, the captain was even chased around by a fan, the atmosphere was immense and the crowd support for a practice game shows why the Chennai Super Kings have the most passionate fans in the league.

For Delhi, coach Ricky Ponting believes the inclusion of Sourav Ganguly will only bolster the chances of the side to do well. Also, he has high hopes from Shreyas Iyer, the leader and batsman.

The former Australian captain has also backed Rishabh Pant to come good as he is a great thinker of the game. Shikhar Dhawan, who is back playing for his home state, believes that the Indian batsmen in the squad have to fire for the side to do well.

"Our team this year is also very balanced as we have good all-rounders, spinners and batsmen. The most important thing for us will be that our Indian batsmen play well and our top 4-5 batsmen are Indian, so I am expecting a great season ahead," Dhawan said at a press conference.

Virat Kohli checks in

Down south, Virat Kohli has arrived in Bengaluru and the captain looks pretty pumped up to get the job done for his side. Kohli, who has scored 4948 runs in 163 matches at a career strike-rate of 130.76 with 4 centuries and 34 half-centuries in his kitty, would want to take this new team over the line this season.

Virat Kohli
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David Warner and Steven Smith have arrived in India. After missing out the last season, the Australia duo was welcomed by their respective franchises. Warner was involved in the first practice matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad while Smith eased into his position with Rajasthan Royals.

"Great to be back here in Hyderabad with @SunRisers I can't thank the franchise and fans enough for your loyal support over the last 12months. Time to get back into it," Warner wrote on his Twitter handle.

"Great to be back here in Jaipur with the Royals family, and I can't wait for this year's edition of the IPL to start," said Smith in a video posted by the franchise on Twitter.

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