The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have always been smart in investing in players who will serve their cause of winning the tournament and also fit into the team culture. Their first choice itself way back in 2008 proved their intentions when they broke the bank in buying MS Dhoni in the auction.
Since then, Dhoni had led the team to three IPL titles in 2010, 2011, and 2018. The CSK franchise has made it into the knockouts in every edition of IPL they have featured in and have played in most finals as well. This shows Dhoni’s keen eye for talent as his inputs are followed to tee during the auctions.
N Srinivasan, the former owner of the CSK franchise and former BCCI President, has a close relationship with MS Dhoni and admitted that Dhoni's tactics and judgment had been central to Super Kings' set-up.
"CSK has a captain who really understands instincts", Rahul Dravid lauds MS Dhoni's leadership
Srinivasan also highlighted how Dhoni has managed to hold together a team that has players from different cultures and thoughts and made them into a winning unit that has become a gold standard in the world of T20 leagues.
He recalled how Dhoni once rejected a brilliant player suggested to him by the management, mentioning that he might not fit in the team culture and spoil the team.
"There was one outstanding player that we suggested to MS, he said: 'no sir, he will spoil the team'. The cohesion within the team is important and see in America, franchise-based sport has been there for such a long time," he said.
“One aspect is that we understood from the beginning is when you manage and run a team, you own the franchise, not the player. You own the team, but not each and every player. If we're talking of competitive IPL or competitive T20, all of them are outstanding performers. To get 10-12 people together and to keep the peace between them itself is not an easy task,” Srinivasan said.
Srinivasan said that MS Dhoni is highly instinctive and doesn't believe in team meetings, something Dwayne Bravo mentioned as well.
"We're awash with data just now. To give you an example, there are bowling coaches and in a T20 game, they play videos of every batsman whom they're going to come against and they see how he got out, what's his strength, what's his weakness, etc. So, MS Dhoni doesn't attend this, he's a pure instinct man. The bowling coach, [head coach Stephen] Fleming will be there and everybody will be there, everyone is giving opinions, [but] he'll get up and go,” Srinivasan said.
"In the context of instinct, he feels that he can assess a batsman or player on the field, that's his judgment,” Srinivasan added about Dhoni.
(ESPNCricinfo inputs)
