Xtra Time Web Desk: For the first time in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will not be in the Play Offs following their embarrassing 10 wickets loss at the hands of Mumbai Indians at Sharjah on Friday. It has been a common sight for the fans to see MS Dhoni leading the CSK side in the knock out stages but that will not be the case this season. MS Dhoni did admit during the post match presentation that the failure to qualify for the Play Offs will hurt him and the members of the team as well as the fans.
“Well it does hurt. What you need to see is what is going wrong, this year hasn’t been our year. In only one or two games this year we have batted and bowled well together. Whether you lose by ten wickets or eight wickets it hardly matters,” he said.
“All the players are hurting, but they are trying their best. It doesn’t always go your way. Hopefully in the next three games we’ll try to put our last stand.”
Dhoni said the team lacked luck, which they badly needed after a couple of early losses.
“I felt the second game was all about the bowling, our batting wasn’t turning up. Rayudu got injured and the rest of the batsmen weren’t turning up and we just kept putting pressure on the batting order. Whenever we did not get off to a good start it kept getting difficult for the middle order,” said Dhoni.
“In cricket when you are going through a tough phase, you need a bit of luck to go your way. But in this tournament it hasn’t really gone our way. We haven’t really won the toss, when we are batting second there hasn’t been a lot of dew and when we are batting first all of a sudden there is a lot of dew on the field.”
The CSK captain said they’ll play the remaining three games for pride, and also for hints on their strategy for the next year.
“We need to have a clear picture for the next year,” he said. “There are ifs and buts in the auction, where the venues will be, and you want to give the boys a chance to perform and show their talent. We have to make the most of the next three games and it is good preparation for the next year. Identify batsmen according to order, who will bowl at the death and hopefully the players will soak up the pressure.
“Captain can’t run away, so I’ll be playing in all the games,” signed off MS Dhoni.