Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are one of the most successful franchises in the history of IPL having qualified for the playoffs each time they have participated in the competition. They have lifted the trophy thrice from 10 seasons and also won the Champions League T20 title twice.
Decoding CSK’s success, former India batsman Subramaniam Badrinath on Saturday (July 11) credited MS Dhoni for transforming the team with his exceptional leadership qualities.
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Initially perceived a misfit for T20 cricket, Badrinath spent six seasons under Dhoni’s captaincy at CSK and finished his IPL career with 1441 runs from 95 games at an average of 30.65. His role in the side was to hold the innings together.
In an exclusive chat with Hindustan Times, Badrinath said for Dhoni assigning roles in the team was very important and he liked to give ample opportunities but once he believes a player is not good enough nothing can reverse his opinion.
“Dhoni always felt that roles are very important, and most of the time, mine was to get the team out of tough situations,” Badrinath stated.
“My role was there in the middle order. The biggest strength of Dhoni is that he gives players that extra chance. If Dhoni believes Badri is good, that’s it. Badri is there. Once he believes it’s right, he sticks to the process. ‘I will give him chances, let him prove himself.’ Similarly, if he believes you are not good enough, even god cannot help you. He has his own mindset and sticks to it no matter what,” he explained.
It has been a year since Dhoni last played any form of competitive cricket. The World Cup 2019 semi-final against New Zealand at Old Trafford was his last appearance in Team India colours.
The veteran wicketkeeper was set to lead CSK in the 13th edition of Indian Premier League but his plans got jeopardized due to COVID-19 as the pandemic forced the BCCI to suspend the cash-rich tournament “until further notice”.
When asked about his thoughts on Dhoni’s immediate cricket future, Badrinath said: “It’s important he chooses. His body is also something that has gone through quite a bit. There’s a reason why he doesn’t play First-Class cricket or Test cricket because his back has also troubled him. It happens with any keeper, once you’ve played so much cricket under so much stress.”
“He’s probably taking stock of how much he’s left in him. A player of his calibre, nobody should decide whether he should play the T20 World Cup, he should play IPL. It’s upto MS to decide what he wants to decide. Right now, there is too much speculation going around as well, most of it is not true,” he further remarked.
