Bitter truth hits home
In the eyes of many neutral observers, the Super Kings earning the bragging rights for the umpteenth time over their fierce rival was as certain as the sun rising in the east.
What an anti-climax it turned out to be with neither the elements nor the two seasoned campaigners out in the middle being able to prevent Chennai Super Kings from suffering a gut wrenching defeat that saw it getting eliminated in the league stage of the ongoing IPL. If this was one half of the proverbial double whammy, the fact that the defeat was inflicted on the Yellow Brigade by its bete noire Royal Challengers Bengaluru would have been a bitter pill to swallow for the defending champion. Considering its pedigree, the Super Kings' failure to qualify for the playoffs is a rare occurrence.
Having raised the bar of excellence to greater heights every year, the five-time champion had a curate's egg of a season, winning seven and losing seven of its 14 league matches. Ironically, it started off its campaign with an emphatic win over RCB at home, merrily extending its dominant run over the Bengaluru side. Keeping the unjustified ‘hype’ factor aside, the CSK-RCB contests, unlike the CSK and Mumbai matches, don't warrant being labelled a rivalry seeing how CSK has made light work of putting RCB and its boisterous fans in their place repeatedly.
In the eyes of many neutral observers, the Super Kings earning the bragging rights for the umpteenth time over their fierce rival was as certain as the sun rising in the east. Few would have foreseen then that the Super Kings will have to contend with an untimely upset at the hands of the same team almost two months on.
Unavailability of a few key personnel such as the marauding opener Devon Conway, and injuries to fast bowlers Matheesha Pathirana and Deepak Chahar at a critical stage of the tournament could be ascribed to Chennai's less than impressive showing. It would be remiss if we don't touch upon the significance of leadership change and its ripple effect with the talismanic MS Dhoni passing on the mantle to Ruturaj Gaikwad before the season got under way.
A similar chain of events unfolded two seasons ago when Dhoni relinquished captaincy for the first time with Ravindra Jadeja being handed the responsibility. The move didn't pay dividends as the campaign went pear-shaped from the outset with the management and support staff swiftly resorting to course correction by persuading Dhoni to reconsider his decision to step down from the captaincy saddle.
With Dhoni turning 43 in another two months, and the mega auction due early next year, it is imperative that the Super Kings’s management put its thinking cap on vis-a-vis a robust succession policy. For, it would be imprudent to expect Dhoni to keep prolonging his career indefinitely, no matter how much he is deified — his impeccable track record notwithstanding, both as a player and a leader nonpareil.
For many CSK fans, a team sheet sans the name of Dhoni is unthinkable but pragmatism should dawn upon them that he can't carry on for eternity with injuries starting to take a heavier toll on his dodgy knees with each passing season. And there is nothing startling about it considering his age and the fact he barely plays cricket the rest of the year once the IPL concludes. The sooner fans reconcile themselves to the uncomfortable yet indisputable fact that Dhoni is nearing the end of a glittering career, the better off it would be for the team's strategy at the auction table.
