CSK and IPL play-offs always go hand in hand. They are the only team to qualify for playoffs each time they participated in the league up until now. When they made a comeback in 2018 picking up experienced professionals to do the job for them, many people mocked them for having assembled a dad’s army.
But to everyone’s surprise, they went on to win the championship in 2018 and almost won it again in 2019, only to lose it off the last ball. Things were always going to be tough for the 3rd year running and to make matters worse the tournament got postponed by around 5 months and now it was to be played in UAE.
CSK’s team was built for the home conditions surrounding Chennai (Chepauk) and to their misfortune, they found the conditions in UAE pretty alien to their liking. Add to it the misery of losing their most experienced player in Suresh Raina and an IPL veteran in Harbhajan Singh. Chennai was about to start a 100-meter race by already being 20 meters behind.
Their victory against Mumbai Indians in the first match proved to be a flash in the pan as their aging warriors failed to come to terms with conditions and opponents alike. Teams which once feared playing them were now taking them down easily, the aura which CSK had throughout the 13 seasons of IPL, was long lost this season.
Another thing that hampered Chennai’s growth this season was the lack of young legs in the team which has proven to be a big factor this time around. Their fixation on sticking to the same XI has also come to haunt them. Young players like N Jagadeesan and Sai Kishore were not given enough opportunities while players well past their prime like Kedar Jadhav and Piyush Chawla were repeatedly persisted with.
There doesn’t seem to be a quick fix to their problems as of now. A complete overhaul is needed for CSK in terms of squad and strategy heading ahead. But for now, it is up to their captain and his famed luck to pull them through the dumps.
