CHENNAI: The whistles have died down at Chepauk. After a nail-biting Indian Premier League final, which saw the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) suffer a last-ball defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Mumbai Indians, the three-time champions are still gasping for breath. Even 48 hours after the final, those in charge of the franchise are yet to come out of the heart-breaking loss which would have made CSK the most successful team in the IPL.
City Express caught up with Kasi Viswanathan, the CEO of CSK for a chat. Excerpts from the interview:
Twelve seasons, 10 finals. How does CSK manage this season after season?
It all comes down to the captain. He gets the best out of the side. Each year, when we assemble ahead of the season, our aim is to make it to the knockout stages. It is the target we set ourselves. We don’t straightaway talk about winning the trophy because in T20 even an over can change the game. You can be a balanced side, but the good team on the day comes out triumphant. So instead of having a fixed target, we look at consistency.
But consistency is the area where most teams struggle. How do you maintain such consistency?
We like to keep it simple. We break the season into two halves — Home matches and away legs. The first and foremost thing is each team plays seven matches at home and you have to maximise it. So our target is to win five of the seven matches we play at Chepauk. Then when we travel outside, we look to win three-four away fixtures which will take the count to about eight wins. That number will mostly put you through to the knockouts. This season we won six at home, so that took a bit of pressure from us when we played outside.
Batting has been CSK’s strength. But the story was different this time. Did you fear the worst?
Not really, because the bowlers were winning us games. Batting was no doubt disappointing and we knew we would be short in the department. But what we also knew was we had players who could win matches on their own. MS Dhoni was consistent as usual. Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis...they all won us a couple of games. The pitch in Chennai was difficult to bat this season. Despite that we managed to win six out of seven, so bowlers played a huge role.
Given the batting issues, did you think runners-up was a bonus?
I won’t call it a bonus because, as I said, getting to the knockouts was our priority. From there on, it is a matter of two matches. And we are capable of coming good in big matches, it is in our DNA, thanks to the players we have in our ranks. Last season, Watson played a blinder in the final and during this season, he almost repeated it. Despite not playing fully to our capabilities, we were there in the final till the last ball. We had satisfaction at the end of it. That is what we look for each season. The loss was heartbreaking, but we competed till the end.
Out of eight finals, you have won only three. Does it hurt?
Knockouts is the most difficult to achieve given the competition level that exists in the IPL. No match is easy. But we have managed to qualify in each of the 10 seasons. Once we enter playoffs, our experience of playing in so many knockouts come in handy. We are always a confident side going into playoffs.
There are talks that World Cup could be MS Dhoni’s last tournament? Will we see him wear yellow again?
We are confident he will come back. In the last two years, there were talks that he is not batting well, but statistically, he has had two great years. He had a stellar last season, and this time he did even better. And knowing him, he would do that for India in the World Cup too. He will definitely come back.