Chennai Super Kings (CSK) continued their poor show in the ongoing IPL as they suffered a humiliating seven-wicket defeat at the hands of Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Abu Dhabi on Monday (October 19).
WATCH – MS Dhoni’s stunning one-handed grab to get rid of Sanju Samson
Opting to bat first, CSK managed to post a paltry 125/5 in 20 overs while RR rode on Jos Buttler’s 48-ball 70* to overhaul the target with 15 balls to spare.
It was CSK’s 7th loss in the IPL 2020 from 10 games and they are more or less out of the play-offs race now.
One scrutiny that the Chennai team has been facing through the campaign is the lack of youngsters in the playing XI, despite the consistent failures of veteran players.
After the loss against Royals, Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni weighed in over the same, saying the youngsters did not show enough spark to push the seniors.
"It's fair enough, this season we weren't really there," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony. "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."
CSK tried only two youngsters, Ruturaj Gaikwad and N Jagadeesan, this season. While Gaikwad made scores of 0 and 5 in two opportunities, Jagadeesan got only one chance and made 33 off 28 balls.
On the other hand, the 35-year-old Kedar Jadhav featured in 8 matches and scored 62 runs from 5 innings at a strike rate of 93.93.
Dhoni said youngsters will get more chances going forward as CSK are about to be knocked out of the competition.
"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 once again highlighted the importance of sticking to the process.
"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."
Speaking 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."
