Former India Women team captain Anjum Chopra has come out in support of the struggling Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni after the three-time champions’ dramatic early exit from the ongoing 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 in the UAE.
Dhoni-led CSK has not made it to the knockout stages of the tournament for the first time in the history of the IPL after having lost 8 of their 12 games in the ongoing event in the UAE.
CSK will now play two more games in the ongoing T20 league against KKR and KXIP on October 29 and November 1, 2020, respectively before leaving the IPL 13 in the UAE.
However, Chopra backed the franchise and the captain by saying one poor IPL season doesn't mean Dhoni is a bad leader and the “match-winner” would know what the CSK needs to get back to winning ways in the next IPL 2021 after the lows of the 2020 season.
Anjum told India Today on Wednesday: “I think he should be (at the center of CSK for the next couple of years). And why not? He is probably the only player who has never been to an auction and he has been a marquee player as well. He deserves to be there as well. Just because one season hasn't worked for the team collectively, that doesn't mean the leader is bad.”
Read Also: IPL 2020: CSK CEO confident of MS Dhoni leading the franchise in 2021 edition
She further explained, “MS Dhoni is too experienced and too good a player... he has been match-winner. He knows what are the challenges and what are the things that they need to do from hereon. He wouldn't have won all those titles if he didn't know what he was doing.
I don't think, just because one season hasn't gone in their favor, it should really make a big difference. But yes, going forward, MS Dhoni also would be knowing exactly how to revamp this team and change things around so that they start getting results they so desire.”
On CSK’s IPL 2020 show, former skipper pointed out: “A lot of things didn't go their way. Obviously, we are aware that they are good at their own backyard, which is Chepauk. We also have to be fair and realistic about it as well. They have dominated this format. Once the start wasn't that good, they were always playing catch-up. When you are chopping and changing, it becomes difficult. There is always a Plan A and a Plan B, but then when you have to start with a Plan C, you're always playing catch-up.”
Chopra also believes that CSK has to play smarter in the next IPL auction for the 2021 season if it would happen later this year. She said: “There will be an opportunity for them to back and reassess where they have come from and where they are going to go.”
She signed off by saying, “I am sure they will be looking to maybe revamping or changing and chopping around. Also, another very important factor is whom are they going to pick? It's not that everybody is going to lend all their players.”
