CHENNAI: Ruturaj Gaikwad was a picture of calm as he sat down in the press conference room at the MA Chidambaram Stadium to take questions. Chennai Super Kings had lost their first match in Guwahati a few days ago, but the five-time champions and their captain remain positive as they return to their home ground for the clash against Punjab Kings on Friday.
It is not like they do not have concerns. MS Dhoni is still out of action. Dewald Brevis trained on Thursday, but is not yet clear whether he will take part in the upcoming game. Gaikwad, however, remains confident. "It is a new group, new batch," Gaikwad said on Thursday. "The more games they get, they will get better and better. The mindset is really positive. I feel it's a long tournament. You tend to lose some, you tend to win some. You just have to keep moving on and focus on the next one," the CSK skipper added.
The good thing for them, however, is that Chennai in recent years have become a batting friendly surface unlike the past where it aided spin predominantly. CSK expressed their displeasure in the past, but now have a line-up that could put on big totals on such surfaces. When asked about what the team is expecting from the Chepauk surface, Gaikwad said the way the surface behaves also depends on the weather and they will have to adapt for whatever comes their way.
"I feel a lot depends here on the weather. Whatever World Cup games happened, they happened in the month of February. So, not much dew, forecast about rain or cloudy weather as well. With the best weather and best conditions, I think, usually, the Chennai wicket plays really well. But at night, sometimes if there is excessive dew and a bit more moisture in the wicket it tends to change a bit, especially in the second half of the innings. Not really sure about how it will go this year. As I said, you know, we have to adapt accordingly and take the experience. We have seven games. Hopefully, whatever the pitch, we'll try to make as much as we can," Gaikwad explained.
Even as they gear up for a good homecoming at Chepauk, it will not be easy. Punjab, in recent years, have challenged Chennai at the MA Chidambaram Stadium and this year would be no different. Every time they played CSK at Chepauk in the last three years, Punjab Kings have gotten across the line without breaking a sweat. Chennai, on the other hand, are looking to put behind the forgettable season they had last year and move forward with a young squad. Part of that was acknowledging that they did not have the best of squads. Gaikwad said as much.
In 2025, what also did not help was that he was ruled out early on and had to watch from the sidelines in what was his second season as CSK captain after taking over from Dhoni. Asked how he is approaching this season as a captain and leader, Gaikwad did not hesitate to break it down. "I am not forcing it, to be honest. I think we didn't have the best of squads last year. When I say that, (I mean) no disrespect to any players. I think the combination didn't just click the way we wanted. The second year of the cycle, you just have limited options, limited pool available. You try to fill in those gaps with whatever players available and kind of hope that things will fall in place. We might have missed out on a few good players in the main auction that happened. But it is a learning process. Sometimes, auctions not going really well or things not falling into place can change the outlook of the whole cycle. This year we tried to fix some of the places," he said, before adding, "Looking at this team now, it is a very young team. Obviously excitement is there. But, at the same time, there is a lot of difference between experienced players and inexperienced players. You have to allow them to make mistakes. You have to allow them to express themselves. You have to make sure that they are in a good headspace. That is what me and (Stephen Fleming) Flem or the whole coaching management job is. That is what we are trying to do."
Shreyas has swelling, but will play
Meanwhile, Punjab skipper Shreyas Iyer, who suffered an injury during their first match against Gujarat Titans, is set to play despite the swelling in his hand. "No fracture, that's a good thing. Although there is some swelling. It's just about getting the swelling down and getting the movement back in the hand. He (Shreyas) should be right for tomorrow (on Friday) though," said assistant coach Brad Haddin on Thursday.
