Chennai Super Kings (CSK) failed to qualify for the IPL 2022 playoffs, which was their second time in 15 years of not appearing in the final four teams, as they ended up in 9th spot in the points table, just above Mumbai Indians (MI).
Speaking about their disappointing journey this year, several CSK players said that they failed to live up to their potential and did not play to their expectations. The Dhoni-led yellow army managed to win only 4 out of 14 matches, finishing their season with 8 points to their name.
CSK opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was the leading run-scorer (635) in IPL 2021, said, “Many people would be saying that we did not have luck going our way or we did not have things going our way. I would be very honest and tell them that we did not play to our expectations. But, as I said, we have to accept things and move forward."
Ruturaj further said, “You (CSK fans) have our backs. We will come out of this year really stronger next year."
Although Ruturaj played quite a few good knocks for CSK this season and accumulated 368 runs in 14 games, he failed to weave the magic he did in the previous season, which was one of the major setbacks for the most consistent IPL franchise.
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While speaking to CSK TV, New Zealand batter Devon Conway said, “We all know it wasn’t quite our year this time. We can accept that and move on. We will bounce back next year. It’s not because of lack of trying or practice, we just didn’t quite play at our best this year. Things will be better next year, for sure."
CSK’s young fast bowler Simarjeet Singh said that continuous losses despite all the efforts took a toll on the team’s mindset.
“When you lose, even if the process that you followed was the right one, you tend to question it. In hindsight, you feel as if you could have done things in a different way. But, we all are trying to learn something from this. From every game, if we try to extract as many learnings as possible, that will hold us in good stead," he said.
Right-handed seamer from Sri Lanka, Maheesh Theekshana said that the team should not lose trust and keep faith in their abilities.
“All the guys really did well, but we were not consistent. Like MS Dhoni says, trust in your ability, do what you can do, result does not matter. The process matters," said Theekshana.
Ending on a positive note, Shivam Dube said, “The story is not complete yet. It is not over."
(IANS inputs)
