CSK is a team which is known to place a lot of faith on their players. Dhoni is involved with the franchise right from the beginning with the exception of 2 years when they were banned. Stephen Fleming has been the coach for more than 10 years. Jadeja, Suresh Raina until he retired and a few others remained the core of the CSK outfit. A campaign that started off wonderfully, 4 wins in 6 games, quickly derailed and came to a stutter. The CSK juggernaut stopped at the most inopportune moment.
Also, the change in captaincy, just a day before the first game, wasn’t prudent. Sure, Dhoni must have felt enough was enough and that he wanted to step away from the responsibilities of being a captain and just enjoy batting. However, he should not have resigned just a day before the first game. It did not give Ruturaj any time to prepare his own plan unless Dhoni had intimated him well in advance. Otherwise, it was a reckless decision. One that Dhoni is not known for. Sure enough, he tried that a couple of years ago with handing over the captaincy to Jadeja who proved inadequate and returned the captaincy to Dhoni.
Nevertheless, for some reason, CSK did not get their footing properly. Some of them thundered for awhile and just petered off while the rest, did not even get going in the first place.
One reason could be that the Chennai pitch did not offer the same usual amount of turn which made them unbeatable at home. It was their trumpcard which did not help them this time around. CSK would have loved to defend their title at home in Chennai. The support for them at home would have be defeaning. Alas, it wasn’t to be.
Needless controversy
Before I go onto how the season went for CSK, let me offer my two cents on the needless controversy after the game against RCB was completed. Yeah, RCB celebrated like a bunch of school kids. Bloody hell! They have only qualified for the playoffs and did not win the title. The manner of their celebration left a bad taste in the mouth. Especially, Kohli obscene mannerisms post the win, made everyone watching cringe. It is a miracle that despite numerous obscene acts and horrible behaviour, neither the ICC nor the BCCI have thought it fit to ban him for a few games so that he can learn a lesson the hardway.
Nonetheless, RCB did celebrate like a bunch of buffoons. Dhoni came out alongwith the rest of the CSK team to shake hands with the RCB players who were in their own world. First of all, what was Dhoni doing at the top of the queue? Hasn’t he resigned already? Wasn’t Ruturaj the official captain? Shouldn’t he be leading the team? Why no one asked these obvious questions? Nonetheless, Harsha Bhogle was of the opinion that RCB disrespected Dhoni and they kept him waiting. Was that so? One only needs to look at the footage. Dhoni was at the top of the queue when CSK’s own batsmen hadn’t returned from the pitch.
Fault lies with Dhoni
Dhoni didn’t even have the courtesy of shaking the hands of his fellow players and the umpires, leave alone the RCB players. For me, what Dhoni did was unacceptable. He behaved as though everything and everyone revolved around him. Why couldn’t he wait for a few more minutes? More importantly, what was Ruturaj doing in the background instead of leading the team? Does it mean that he is the captain only on paper? CSK, the fans of Dhoni and the slavish followers of Dhoni like Harsha Bhogle must understand that Dhoni is not God. He must have waited a little while for the RCB players to arrive. Later, it was revealed that Kohli went inside the CSK dressing room, found Dhoni and shook his hands. This was utterly uncalled for and ridiculous.
Batting did not live upto the billing
CSK received a jolt right at the beginning when Devon Convoy was ruled out because of an injury. He was extremely effective with Ruturaj during the last year’s tournament. His absence, upset the combination greatly. They were forced to open with Rachin Ravindra, who is by no means a poor replacement but is young and his game is not yet suited for the demands of T20. That he was dropped after poor returns in the initial games, tells its own story. Ruturaj was more or less the lone torch bearer. Rahane had a miserable outing thereby possibly ending his cricket career.
Indian fans will be apprehensive they way Dube suddenly lost form. He is in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup, a spot he does not deserve. With Jadeja also struggling to middle the ball, every Indian fan will be worried as to what will happen at the World Cup.
The return of Patheerana and Mustafizur meant that the bowling lacked any bite. The Indian replacements proved inadequate for the job. Deepak Chahar’s tryst with injury continues. For someone with his pace, it is incredible how many times he gets injured.
As for Dhoni, it is clear that he does not fancy himself as a batsman any longer. Against Punjab, he came in at number 9. He has become a pure hitter who can thrash the bowling in the last couple of overs and nothing more. It is a steep fall for Dhoni. It does not really make any sense for him to continue playing any longer. I understand he is essential for marketing but everyone will have to stop one day. Dhoni’s is near.
Wrapping up CSK the juggernaut stops
CSK ended the tournament at the 5th spot thereby missing out on playoffs. This was only the 3rd time in the annals of the IPL, that CSK did not make the playoffs. Dhoni has left everyone confused. Whether he is going to come back or will he retire, it remains to be seen. At his age, he will not be at his best by playing only once a year.
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