It is a well-known fact that former India captain and current CSK captain MS Dhoni likes to handle successes and failures equally. This is the same point young CSK opener Ruturaj Gaikwad elaborated on when discussing what and how the 41-year-old keeps the dressing room calm even after defeats.
In his last three seasons at CSK, Gaikwad as a batsman and CSK as a team tasted both the highs and the lows. They failed to reach the playoffs for the first time 2020 but bounced back by winning the IPL 2021, on the back of Orange Cap winner Gaikwad and second-highest scorer Faf du Plessis.
The juggernaut, however, went down as CSK finished 9th in IPL 2022.
“All the players gelled really well. Everyone used to be a little quiet for 10–15 mins after losing a game. But Mahi bhai, after coming back from the presentation, would tell us, ‘Relax boys, it happens.’
“You tend to relax a little bit after hearing that. MS Dhoni taught me how to stay neutral when things aren’t going your way. And even when you are on the winning side, it is important to stay neutral.
“Win or lose, MS Dhoni made sure that the team atmosphere remained the same. Yes, there was surely a lot of disappointment, but no negativity. There was no blame game. A lot of times when you keep on losing, different groups are formed within the team. But that didn’t happen in CSK,” Gaikwad was quoted as saying by Timesnownews.com.
MS Dhoni is likely to play his last IPL season in 2023
CSK is the second-most successful franchise in the IPL – with 4 titles, just one fewer than the Mumbai Indians – however, it is always chucklesome to learn that their team meeting do not last for more than just a few minutes while other franchises spent hours on brainstorming tactics and plans.
“MS Dhoni’s meetings are usually very short. Even after losing, the longest meeting would be around two or three minutes. He would tell us that there is a dinner plan, so make sure everyone is ready for it. He would make us understand that it isn’t possible for CSK to win each and every time,” Gaikwad added.
Meanwhile, despite a forgettable IPL 2022 season, CSK have retained most of their players ahead of the IPL 2023 auction.
CSK retained squad: MS Dhoni (c), Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Mukesh Chowdhary, Devon Conway, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Matheesha Pathirana, Dwaine Pretorius, Ambati Rayudu, Mitchell Santner, Subhranshu Senapati, Simarjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana
CSK players released: Dwayne Bravo, Adam Milne, Chris Jordan, Robin Uthappa (retired), Narayan Jagadeesan, KM Asif, Hari Nishaanth, Bhagath Varma
