Kaushik Gandhi explains how CSG managed fine turnaround

CHENNAI: Chepauk Super Gillies headed into the Tamil Nadu Premier League 2022 with the tag of double defending champion.

But, the Chennai-based team did not live up to the billing in its first two matches as it went down to table-topper Nellai Royal Kings (in a ‘Super Over’) and Siechem Madurai Panthers.

However, Super Gillies – possessing champion’s mentality inculcated by head coach Hemang Badani – refused to throw in the towel after back-to-back defeats and has made a statement to the rest of the league by winning five games on the bounce.

Having finished its round-robin commitments with 10 points from seven matches, CSG is all but assured of the second position on the table. So, how did Chepauk manage a comeback of epic proportions to progress to the play-offs?

“We worked hard in Chennai during the 10-day break (from June 26 to July 5). For us, the tournament started on July 6 (referring to the team’s third match against Ruby Trichy Warriors). We tried to forget the first two matches. We took one match at a time and ended up winning all five games,” Super Gillies skipper Kaushik Gandhi told DT Next.

“I have always been a person who believes in preparing well. I told the support staff about what I wanted from the team; I was very clear with them. I asked the coaches to be ruthless on us when it came to our preparation.

“So, the [head] coach and the rest of the staff were hard on us, which helped us turn things around. I also told the trainer to push us [to our limits] during practice. We had a lot of running and strength sessions. With great preparation, we, as a team, became tougher mentally,” Kaushik explained.

Skipper hails Sai Kishore’s ‘tremendous’ spell

Kaushik also showered praise on leftarm spinner R Sai Kishore, who came up with the most economical spell in TNPL history – 4-3-2-4 – against iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans in Salem on Friday.

“We know what he brings to the table. It was a tremendous spell. He changed the match. He ended up shocking himself. We were surprised with the end result,” said Kaushik.

“Yesterday, it was Sai Kishore who stood up for us. Tomorrow, it might be my other left-arm spinners or the fast bowlers [who deliver],” added Kaushik.