New Zealand opener Devon Conway made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2022. Conway played one game for his debut and then was benched for some games as CSK struggled to find a win in the league stage.
He then made a return to the XI and ended up making 252 runs in 7 matches with 3 fifties including the best of 87, giving hopes to the CSK team for the next season of the IPL.
Talking to CSK TV, Conway spoke about the season the franchise had which saw Ravindra Jadeja leading the team for the first 8 matches, winning only two, then MS Dhoni taking over the captaincy and winning two more matches from the last 6 league games.
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The New Zealander added that despite the fact that the four-time IPL champions couldn't hit their stride in this year's edition of the tournament, there was no despondency in the dressing room, as everyone kept a smile on their face, not allowing defeats to affect them much.
"The rich history (winning four IPL titles) that we have in this competition, we wanted to make the playoffs desperately. Unfortunately, it did not go our way this year. We had periods where we were really good with the bat, ball, and with our fielding, but it just did not happen consistently for us throughout,” Conway said.
"The fact that we have lost some close games, we have not left the change room feeling despondent. The CSK way is to keep your chin up and keep a smile on your face and not let it affect you too much. Because if you do, then you allow those emotions to affect you in the next game, and then all of a sudden all your confidence is lost. That is probably one of the reasons why we were successful as a group in the history of the IPL. The guys keep constant whether we win or lose, and that is one of the things that keep us moving forward," added Conway.
Devon Conway had also left the CSK bubble to get married in midst of the IPL 2022, after which his fortunes took a turn and he played some amazing knocks for the CSK team. He also said that the 'Dhoni 7' t-shirts everywhere inside the stadiums were a sight to behold and "pretty special" for him.
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"My wife would say that probably because I am married now I had a good run of form but I think yeah at some point of your life you just feel content. You feel you are happy where you are at. You can just translate that into your cricket and play with freedom, and enjoy it. If that has got something to do with marriage, I don't know. But, that is certainly the sort of form I struck after I got married.
Firstly I would say thank you so much for all their (fans) support. You couldn't ask for a better fanbase, and so we are very grateful to have all the supporters and the fans that we do, and just to see all the CSK T-shirts in the stadiums with 'Dhoni 7' on them was pretty special," he added.
MS Dhoni has confirmed that he will play the IPL 2023 season as well, as he wishes to thank the fans at Chennai and other venues for supporting the franchise.
(IANS inputs)
