Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni talked about the team’s incredible IPL record since the first season. Dhoni said that it is about placing players in positions, where they are more likely to succeed.
The Super Kings advanced to the IPL 2023 playoffs with a 77-run victory over the Delhi Capitals on Saturday. The Yellow Army hasn’t reached the knockouts only twice in the history of IPL.
Following a dominating win against the Capitals, MS Dhoni stated that the greatest way to use players is to place them in favourable positions, even if it comes at the sacrifice of one’s own.
“I think there is no recipe as such. You try to pick the best players and you try to give them the best slot where they have more chances of performing. You use them in a manner where they have most chances of performing. And at the same time, groom them in the areas where they’re not very strong. It maybe a batter, maybe a bowler. Somebody has to make that sacrifice, you may have to give your slot to somebody else.”
“So I feel that’s one of the reasons apart from the fact that the management has been great, including the support staff. They’ve always backed us, they always tell us, ‘Don’t worry, keep doing what you’re doing, you will do well’. So, I think I feel all these things together, they have a bigger, bigger impact. And I think that’s one of the reasons why we have been successful.”
MS Dhoni
On Saturday, the CSK scored 223 on a slow wicket. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway put up a 141-run opening stand to set the stage for the total. Despite some injuries, they made it to the playoffs.
MS Dhoni on CSK’s death bowling
MS Dhoni praised Tushar Deshpande in particular for a significant improvement in death bowling and remarked how natural Matheesha Pathirana is in that category.
“I think when it comes to death bowling, confidence is a very important factor. If you see Tushar from the first game till now, he is somebody who has developed that death-over bowling. Not to forget, Pathirana is someone who’s quite natural when it comes to the last three, four, or five overs. So that’s one less headache in managing the bowlers. But Tushar, the way he has come up from the first game onwards, he has been remarkable.”
In the first qualifier, the Super Kings are most likely to play the Gujarat Titans.