Gunning for the title that eluded them last year, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) left for Johannesburg on Wednesday morning sans their skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, to participate in the second edition of the Indian Premier League that starts in South Africa on April 18.
The Super Kings left for Johannesburg via Dubai at 0945 IST by an Emirates Airlines flight.
Apart from Dhoni, medium pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji and opening batsman Murali Vijay, who will return from New Zealand later Wednesday, and some overseas players, including coach-cum-player Stephen Fleming, Mathew Hayden and George Bailey will join the squad later.
From Johannesburg, the Super Kings will travel on Thursday to Durban, where they will commence training.
Kasi Viswanathan, secretary Tamil Nadu Cricket Association and Operations Head of the Super Kings, said the team is geared to return with the trophy this time.
"We are ready for the big occasion. We want to come back with the trophy this time. We have set our preparations in place with the aim of making the semi-finals as a goal and then go full throttle in the final for the trophy that we missed by a hair's breath last time to Rajasthan Royals," he said.
Super Kings will have a six-day training camp in Durban from April 10-15, which includes a few practice matches against local teams, before leaving for Cape Town to play Mumbai Indians in the second match on the opening day of the high-profile Twenty20 tournament.
Vishwanathan also informed that along with Dhoni, star England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff and Kiwi Jacob Oram will join the team in Cape Town.
"Dhoni will be returning to India along with the team today from New Zealand. Of course, he requires some rest. He, along with Flintoff and others, will join the team in Cape Town on April 15.
"The Indians as well as overseas players have been involved in international matches for their respective countries and have the experience to straight away go for the matches," he added.
Viswanathan noted that all the eight teams have made some changes in their squads this time around after first edition's experience.
"No team could be taken for granted and there could even be high scoring matches as some of the venues have small grounds. But the Super Kings will approach every match with caution. We have depth in our bench strength."
