Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are having a tough time in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season. They have lost their first four games under the new captain Ravindra Jadeja.
While the defending champions suffered a 6-wicket defeat in the tournament opener against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), they lost to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by the same margin in the second fixture.
CSK received a 54-run thrashing at the hands of Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their third match whereas they were hammered by 8 wickets in their last outing versus Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
While the critics attribute the poor run to a change in captaincy, CSK batting coach Michael Hussey has said that every member of the four-time IPL champions is behind Jadeja.
Hussey admitted that making Jadeja skipper was a huge change and everyone was supporting him.
"Yeah, it (making Jadeja skipper) is a big change. Obviously, MS Dhoni was the captain for such a long period of time and he has done an amazing job. But the great thing is that he is still here to help Jadeja along the way in his first year as captain. So I know that Jadeja and MSD are talking almost every day about captaincy, about tactics and how leadership works, along with Stephen Fleming the coach, and to try and make the transition as smooth as possible,” Hussey quoted as saying by IANS.
"Everyone respects Jadeja very highly and we are coming to terms with a new captain and how Jadeja likes to go about it. But so far so good. He is doing a very good job, and I am just hoping we can get a few wins on the board very soon to help Jadeja feel more relaxed as captain. Everyone is supporting Jadeja and we are hoping for some victories very soon," he added.
According to Hussey, the best way to tackle the tough situations as a batter was to just concentrate on the ball while not worrying about anything else.
"The important thing is, I guess, is to work with your partner at the other end. There is two versus eleven out there, two in the middle batting against eleven people, and you try and win the contest. It is one ball versus one bat, and you try to win one ball at a time," he opined.
"If you start worrying about what the pitch is doing, or what the score is, or worrying about getting out, then you are concentrating on the wrong things. All you need to do is try and concentrate on that ball coming down and see every single ball as a contest, and you try and win that contest and move on to the next contest.
"It is amazing if you can keep winning those little contests and (by) breaking it down into small parts, you can slowly start getting on top.
"But I still think it is important to work with your partner at the other end, keep talking positively to each other, keep running hard between the wickets, keep doing the basic things very well. That is how you try and win those little tough pressure contests."
Chennai Super Kings will next face Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on April 12.
(With IANS inputs)
