Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin stated that the Chennai Super Kings team management needs to focus on keeping a “hurting” dressing room upbeat in order to stop the team from losing for the third time in a row in IPL season.
With three straight losses, CSK is still at the bottom of the points table after suffering a devastating 43-run setback to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Sunday.
This is CSK’s second-worst start to a season after losing their first four games in the 2022 Indian Premier League. They have now lost three straight games.
“I am sure the dressing room atmosphere is going to be hurting. I am not too sure how hard the words can be, but honestly, with such a young side, there is only one way you can go and that is upwards.
“The way to go upwards is to get a really good work ethic going and a good team atmosphere. I am sure it is going to be extremely deflating inside that Chennai dressing room after this thumping defeat to RCB,” PTI quoted Ashwin telling JioStar.
According to the former India spinner, it is unfair to hold inexperienced players accountable.
“It is very tough to put CSK’s defeat against RCB into words. The RCB-CSK contest is supposed to be one of the most celebrated clashes in the IPL. There are some issues in the squad, but there are a lot of inexperienced players in that line-up. We cannot really ask them for accountability. They are at an age where they need to go out and enjoy their cricket. You cannot push them into the legacy chase that is expected from a franchise of CSK’s calibre.”
After winning the toss and choosing to bowl first, CSK encountered a ferocious Tim David who hit a 25-ball 70 to propel RCB to a commanding 250/3.
After failing to perform well in the first three games, former CSK and RCB player du Plessis predicted that India’s T20 World Cup hero Sanju Samson would turn things around.
“If you take a close look at the CSK batting line-up, you would say the quality is there. So, you back the quality. You back Ruturaj Gaikwad, the captain. He has proven it over and over again. Sanju Samson is a class player, who proved his doubters wrong in the T20 World Cup.
“And then you have a mighty talented youngster in Ayush Mhatre, who has been exceptional so far in his short IPL career. So, you have the talent in the top three. It is just a matter of letting them put it together.
“There is no way that Sanju Samson scores runs for fun in the T20 World Cup but ends up failing multiple times in the IPL. He is too good a player to fail multiple times. You just have to back him and give him time,” Du Plessis said.
When asked how the string of losses will test Ruturaj Gaikwad’s leadership abilities, the South African responded that this difficult stage will aid in his development as captain.
“It is not easy as a young captain to suffer back-to-back defeats. Not performing yourself makes things even more difficult as a player. What he will experience right now is the weight of pressure.
“Every good captain has to go through this in their career. They have to get a thick skin. You have to understand that this could potentially make him a better leader. He has a good head on his shoulders. He has a great support staff around him. He has a great leader in MS Dhoni, who will soon come back into the fold. So, all the things are there to help him. This will make him stronger as a captain.”
