Follow UsChennai Super Kings qualified for the playoffs stage of the Indian Premier League by beating Delhi Capitals by a humongous margin of 77 runs in their last league game of the season. The success of CSK’s incredible season can largely be attributed to how their bowlers held their own despite not having much of experience.
“There is no recipe for success,” MS Dhoni said in the post-match interview with Star Sports. “You try and pick the best players and give them the best slot to perform. And groom them in the areas where they are not strong, somebody has to sacrifice their slot for the team. Credit to the management as well. They always back us. But the players are most important; without the players, we can't do anything. I think death bowling and confidence are very important.
“I think we need to figure out and pick players who are team first - not bothered about individual performance and perform the best at knockout stages. It is difficult to judge from the outside, but we try and adjust to the players and environment as well. Even if they come to 10%, we can adjust 50% to fit them better into the team,” the CSK skipper added.
A case in point is Tushar Deshpande, who grabbed 20 wickets in 14 games to keep Chennai ahead. Even though Deshpande was on the expensive side, his wickets were important from the side’s dominance perspective. Shedding light on that and how the franchise approach its players, MS Dhoni revealed the simple method behind their success.
“Tushar has developed because he is able to execute under pressure, he has the confidence now. And when you keep playing the same players, it helps. I think the bowlers have also taken responsibility, Pathirana is quite a natural to bowling at the death, but Deshpande has really developed there,” Dhoni added.