The Chennai Super Kings finished seventh on the points table.
However, IPL 2020 proved to be an excellent case study in whatever could go wrong for the CSK franchise, went wrong, and in the end, it affected their performance and resulted in the team not qualifying for the final four, for the first time ever in the IPL history.
It started with Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh, two of their veterans pulling out of the tournament just days before it commenced owing to personal reasons. This affected the team balance badly and then the whole contingent saw the effects of COVID-19 as 13 members including Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaikwad tested positive for the virus.
IPL 2020: MS Dhoni hints CSK's "core group" set for change after first league stage exit
This affected the team mentally as their 6-day quarantine was extended to a full 14-day one and issues began creeping up. They did well to win their opening match against defending champions Mumbai Indians, but it was all downhill for them from there.
Wrong selections, backing wrong players, not trusting young stars in the squad, and over-dependence on seniors, along with fitness issues hurt CSK and resulted in them becoming the first team to be eliminated from the playoffs race.
Today, TEAM COC takes a look at five players, whose performance affected the CSK franchise in the worst way possible and who couldn’t raise their game above what the team needed them to do.
Check out the 5 biggest disappointments for CSK in IPL 13
DWAYNE BRAVO
He missed quite a few games at the start and when he came into the playing XI, much was expected of him, as he provided a good balance to the team. However, in the 6 matches he played, Bravo made 7 runs and picked 6 wickets at an economy of 8.57. This performance was not at all helpful for the franchise.
He then picked up another injury that ruled him out of the entire tournament and it exposed the fragile fitness of the entire CSK squad. Though a gun all-rounder, CSK might rethink retaining the 37-year-old for the next IPL, given his issues with fitness lately.
PIYUSH CHAWLA
Though Chawla started out well, bowling valiantly in the middle overs, keeping the runs down, he failed in one aspect. He didn’t pick up as many wickets as his captain and coach had expected from him, given his experience in the league and the game.
Chawla managed 6 wickets in 7 games at an economy of 9.09 and CSK kept juggling between Chawla and Karn Sharma the entire tournament. Chawla proved to be a big failure in terms of return on investment.
SHANE WATSON
Watson had the tournament of his life, making two centuries, including one in the finals where he took CSK to their third IPL title win. He almost repeated that feat in the final of the 2019 IPL as well, where CSK fell one run short to MI. However, by the time IPL 2020 was finalized, Watson, was devoid of any cricket practice, more than any other regular cricketer.
IPL 2020: Shane Watson lauds CSK captain MS Dhoni for the way he treats his players
Even in the previous two editions of the IPL, CSK managed Watson’s injuries as he didn’t bowl much in IPL 2018 and didn’t bowl at all in IPL 2019 and 2020. He fielded at comfortable positions and even Dhoni said that the team had to concede some runs in order to keep their daddies’ army fit.
This came back to haunt them as Watson looked out of touch throughout the tournament and looked unfit as well. Though he scored 299 runs in 11 matches with 2 half-centuries, he averaged 29.90 and had a strike-rate of 121.05, far below what the fans expected from a big-hitter like him.
KEDAR JADHAV
IPL 2020: Kedar Jadhav brutally trolled for yet another innings without intent
He was not called onto bowl as well and his fielding was way below standards. Yet he was constantly backed by MS Dhoni and the team management despite clearly struggling to get bat on the ball and was not the Jadhav people knew could hit big shots and take risks when quick runs were needed.
He had done nothing of note in IPL 2019 as well, while in IPL 2020, the performance went from bad to worse, with die-hard CSK fans baying for his blood every time he ate up balls when the required run-rate was rising.
MS DHONI
Finally, the biggest disappointment for CSK fans was their captain, MS Dhoni. Dhoni had shown that he was ready to go during a pre-IPL camp in March in Chennai, but then the Coronavirus pandemic struck, and in August, Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket as well.
CSK hyped Dhoni’s return to the cricket field in another camp in Chennai before the players flew to UAE for IPL 2020 in August, as the wicketkeeper-batsman was seen hitting some big shots with ease, and hopes started to build for a Dhoni special IPL.
It was also expected that in the absence of Suresh Raina, Dhoni will promote himself up the order to become the player around whom the CSK batting will revolve.
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However, it didn’t happen, even as CSK kept losing match after match, but Dhoni kept pushing himself down the order, even sending the likes of Jadhav and Curran ahead of him at one point.
As a captain as well, Dhoni missed a few tricks and was criticized for not backing young talent like Ruturaj Gaikwad and N Jagadeesan, discarding them after giving them a couple of matches in the middle of the tournament, when CSK was looking to stay afloat. His comment that the youngsters didn’t show ‘the spark’ that the team management expected, came in for a lot of criticism also.
Dhoni made 200 runs in 14 matches with a best of 47* at a strike-rate of 116.27, while hitting 7 sixes and 16 fours in total. It was a far cry from what the fans were used to seeing, especially after his exploits in IPL 2018 and 2019.
Though he has confirmed that he will play in the IPL 2021, it remains to be seen what changes Dhoni and the team management will bring to the squad and planning, aiming to dust this poor performance off and rebuild from here.