Chennai: It was just after the 2018 IPL auction that CSK, returning from their two-year ban, had assembled the proverbial ‘dad’s army’, ignoring the then U-19 world champions Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw, Riyan Parag and Abhishek Sharma, among a few others.
“Isn’t it a recipe for disaster to go with so many over-30s?” When the question was posed to N Srinivasan during an informal conversation, the team owner had smiled and said, “Dhoni believes there’s no substitute for experience in the IPL. You’ll see what this team does.” Dhoni kept his word.
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Over the next six years, CSK won three titles, with the ‘golden oldies’ forming the core of the team. By 2024, though, the cracks in the theory had started arising. By 2025, they had taken the shape of craters. Last year, CSK missed the playoffs by a whisker, but this time around, the door has been all but closed by the midway stage, with some of the seniors in the team being in woeful form.
CSK now need to win their last six matches, starting with a game against fellow strugglers Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, and hope that teams which are far ahead of them on the table start faltering badly. But the disaster in the CSK ranks has sparked a mini-revolution.
Teenage bench-warmers, who are normally used to fill the numbers for in-house practice games, are now starting XI players. Against Mumbai Indians on Sunday, CSK had 20-year-old Shaik Rasheed opening the batting while 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre, who was brought in two days earlier, was batting at No. 3.
In fact, during the course of the nine-wicket humiliation, the Rasheed-Mhatre partnership of 41 seemed a bright spot. While the inclusion of these two was necessitated by the injury to Ruturaj Gaikwad and the poor form of Rahul Tripathi , CSK have a few other ‘kids’ lined up.
South Africa’s 21-year-old Dewald Brevis, who went unsold in the auction, has been drafted in and could be one of the options going forward. Senior player Vijay Shankar has been a disaster and he, too, should make way for one of the talented youngsters Vansh Bedi or Andre Siddarth in the middle-order.
And just to add meat to the youngster narrative, Afghanistan’s 20-year-old left-arm wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad, with 12 wickets, has been the stand-out bowler. While CSK finally seem to have woken up, have they already missed the bus? Coach Stephen Fleming , taking the contrary view, said that among the top-20 IPL batters this year, only one was a youngster.
He was probably referring to Punjab Kings’s Priyansh Arya. “We understand the importance of youth. It’s not that we’ve neglected it, but we believe players with experience navigate the difficult situations in the IPL better,” Fleming said. The coach added that most of the young guns will be tested out to build a strong core for next year.
“Isn’t it a recipe for disaster to go with so many over-30s?” When the question was posed to N Srinivasan during an informal conversation, the team owner had smiled and said, “Dhoni believes there’s no substitute for experience in the IPL. You’ll see what this team does.” Dhoni kept his word.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel.
Over the next six years, CSK won three titles, with the ‘golden oldies’ forming the core of the team. By 2024, though, the cracks in the theory had started arising. By 2025, they had taken the shape of craters. Last year, CSK missed the playoffs by a whisker, but this time around, the door has been all but closed by the midway stage, with some of the seniors in the team being in woeful form.
CSK now need to win their last six matches, starting with a game against fellow strugglers Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, and hope that teams which are far ahead of them on the table start faltering badly. But the disaster in the CSK ranks has sparked a mini-revolution.
Teenage bench-warmers, who are normally used to fill the numbers for in-house practice games, are now starting XI players. Against Mumbai Indians on Sunday, CSK had 20-year-old Shaik Rasheed opening the batting while 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre, who was brought in two days earlier, was batting at No. 3.
In fact, during the course of the nine-wicket humiliation, the Rasheed-Mhatre partnership of 41 seemed a bright spot. While the inclusion of these two was necessitated by the injury to Ruturaj Gaikwad and the poor form of Rahul Tripathi , CSK have a few other ‘kids’ lined up.
South Africa’s 21-year-old Dewald Brevis, who went unsold in the auction, has been drafted in and could be one of the options going forward. Senior player Vijay Shankar has been a disaster and he, too, should make way for one of the talented youngsters Vansh Bedi or Andre Siddarth in the middle-order.
And just to add meat to the youngster narrative, Afghanistan’s 20-year-old left-arm wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad, with 12 wickets, has been the stand-out bowler. While CSK finally seem to have woken up, have they already missed the bus? Coach Stephen Fleming , taking the contrary view, said that among the top-20 IPL batters this year, only one was a youngster.
He was probably referring to Punjab Kings’s Priyansh Arya. “We understand the importance of youth. It’s not that we’ve neglected it, but we believe players with experience navigate the difficult situations in the IPL better,” Fleming said. The coach added that most of the young guns will be tested out to build a strong core for next year.
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