New Delhi: For the first time in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Chennai Super Kings have failed to reach the playoffs this year. While veterans Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh have already opted out before the tournament, Dwayne Bravo added more misery to the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side when the West Indian was ruled out due to a groin injury in the middle of the tournament.
A lot of questions have come up about the future of the team. While some stated lack of planning has led to this outcome, some criticised Dhoni’s decision making in some of the matches. Even some of the experts questioned whether Dhoni should remain captain next year.
However, quashing all speculations, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan confidently declared that Dhoni will continue to lead the team in IPL 2021. “Yes, definitely. I am very confident that Dhoni will lead CSK in 2021. He has won three titles for us in the IPL. This is the first year we have not qualified for the playoffs. No other team has done that. One bad year does not mean we will have to change everything,” Viswanathan was quoted as saying to TOI.
Not only the full squad but Dhoni himself has been in low standard performance on the field. As, in 12 matches in this season, he has scored 199 runs at a strike rate of just 118.45. “We didn’t play to our potential this season. We lost games that we should have won. That pushed us back. The withdrawals of Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh coupled with Covid cases in the camp meant that the balance of the side was upset,” Viswanathan further added.
Though the CEO is still showing trust in the captain, head coach Stephen Fleming had admitted that CSK is an ‘ageing team’ and ‘has run out of juice’. “It’s fair to say looking at the IPL table now that this team may have run out of juice,” Fleming said revealing that the self-confidence in the dressing room was precariously short.
“If you’re looking at the three-year cycle – we won the first year; lost off the last ball last year; and we always thought that the third year with an ageing squad would be difficult. And Dubai (UAE) has challenged us with a whole new set of requirements,” he said.
“See as Fleming has said, lot of chinks in the armor has been exposed this time. Some tough calls surely will be taken. The only issue is there is little time between now and the next edition”, a source close to CSK management said to InsideSport last week.
The problem that CSK might face while reconstructing the team for the next edition of IPL is that BCCI is yet to announce whether fresh auctions will be conducted for IPL 2021 or the same teams will keep back. So, planning from now onwards for the next edition will be kept in a doubtful situation until and unless there is no confirmation from the board.
The only two positive things that happened with CSK in this season were Sam Curran’s all-round brilliance and Ruturaj Gaikwad’s unbeaten half-century in the game against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
