MS Dhoni’s Reaction After CSK’s Loss To Rajasthan Royals

Chennai Super Kings are more or less out of the IPL 2020 following their seven-wicket loss to Rajasthan Royals in Abu Dhabi. CSK were outplayed completely, with their batsmen managing only 125 for 5 in 20 overs before Jos Buttler took Rajasthan Royals home with an unbeaten 70.

The Lack Of Young Blood

One of the criticism the Chennai team has been facing through the campaign is the lack of youngsters in the XI, even when senior players have consistently failed. Captain MS Dhoni on Monday explained their decision to continue playing the seniors, saying the youngsters did not show enough spark to push the seniors.

“It’s fair enough, this season we weren’t really there,” Dhoni conceded at the post-match presentation. “Also, there were a few chances to the youngsters. Maybe we didn’t see the kind of spark they could have given us to say ok, push the experienced guy and make some space for them.”

The two youngsters who got an opportunity in the team this season were Ruturaj Gaikwad and N Jagadeesan. Gaikwad made scores of 0 and 5, the 0 coming in an out of position No. 4. Jagadeesan got only one match and made a decent 33 off 28 against RCB only to be dropped after the game.

The Youngsters Of The Team

Kedar Jadhav, meanwhile, has made 62 runs from 5 innings (8 matches) at a strike rate of 93.93.

Dhoni said youngsters will get more chances going forward as CSK are staring at an exit.

“We tried a few things. You don’t want to do too much chop and change because after 3-4-5 games you won’t be sure of anything. You want to give the guys a fair go, and then if they’re not performing, then you switch. Insecurity is something you don’t want to prevail in the dressing room.  And that’s what is something we always back.

“Today, what the result does it, give those guys, whatever is left in the league stages, they will get a chance and have no real pressure on them. They can express themselves and give us the option of looking at other options in the batting line up.”

Dhoni’s Statement

Dhoni once again spoke about the need for sticking to the process and not have the undue pressure of results.

“It’s not always supposed to go your way. That’s why we have to go back to the process and see if the process was wrong or if we were not able to execute on the field,” he said.

“Result is always a by-product of the process, so we keep going back to that. What it does it it helps you think in a positive way. We play in front of our fans and millions of people, so there is nothing much you can hide. But the fact still remains that if you’re focused on the process then the undue pressure of result doesn’t enter the dressing room. We’re trying to address that.”

Talking about the match, Dhoni said CSK’s spinners did not get enough help from the pitch like the RR counterparts.

“There was a bit for the fast bowlers and the reason I brought Jadeja was to see how much it was stopping but it didn’t really stop much like in the first innings,” he said.

“So I went with the fast bowlers and then maybe try the spinners maybe once the ball gets slightly old. I don’t think the spinners got as much bite in the second innings like their spinners got in the first innings.”