CHENNAI: For 11 editions, Chennai Super Kings have remained constant. Barring Mumbai Indians, no team has managed to retain what you call the 'face of the team' players season after season.
It was possible thanks to a coordinated effort put in by the team management led by the late VB Chandrasekhar in 2008, who assembled a unit that has served the franchise till 2020, winning three IPL and two Champions League T20 titles along the way. Like all good things, this journey has ended too.
It was obvious that a change will be around the corner midway through the current season when Chennai were languishing at the bottom of the table. Though they ended the 2020 campaign with three wins on the trot, the Super Kings are gearing up for a reboot. But much depends on the auctions.
The Super Kings strength over the years has been the presence of a strong Indian core. If Lakshmipathy Balaji, Murali Vijay, S Badrinath and Ravichandran Ashwin played crucial roles in their formative years and helping the team clinch successive titles in 2010 and 2011, they have also had the likes of Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja who have left their imprints all over the past decade.
Throw in the likes of Mohit Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Ishwar Pandey, Ambati Rayudu, Harbhajan Singh, the Super Kings have had their core group compliment their overseas stars.
As Chennai capped off a disappointing season, which has seen them miss out on play-offs berth for the first time in their history, captain MS Dhoni and head coach Stephen Fleming both sang the same tune with regards to what to expect next season.
“A lot depends on what BCCI decides about the auction. We need to slightly change our core group and looks for the next ten years. At the start of the IPL, we made a team and it served well (for 10 years). There comes a time where you have to shift a bit, hand it over to the next generation,” Dhoni said.
Going forward, Chennai not only need to strengthen their Indian players but also need to look beyond Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, Imran Tahir immediately. As much as they wish to rebuild, Chennai know their hands are tied at the moment. The full IPL auction looks to be postponed by a year, which means the Super Kings will have fewer players to choose from.
Barring a handful, it is hard to see the likes of Raina, Harbhajan, Watson, Jadhav in the yellow jersey again and Fleming said they will take inspiration from how the franchise built a sw in 2008 that has served them for more than a decade.
“It is a great challenge and fun. But you have a responsibility around,” Fleming said when asked about the process of rebuilding. Barring the first season where he was a player, Fleming has been the head coach ever since and is the longest-serving one in the IPL. Having seen how the team has evolved over the years, Fleming said the franchise will try to replicate the same model, which can serve them for the next decade.
“When you have the likes of Ruturaj coming through, you get young and old, like the first team that (N) Srinivasan and CSK picked and how they got it right. We will be looking to get a similar one so that you can get a decade of consistent cricket and if it happens you are doing something right. We are tapping into that. It is a big responsibility as teams have got smarter and they what they really want. So the talent is really at a premium, but it is one of the exciting challenges of being in the IPL,” Fleming added.
Even though Chennai were the first team to be knocked out of this year's edition, Fleming chose to see the positives, especially the manner in which the team finished the campaign. In the past, teams who end up losing momentum in the initial phase have struggled to make a comeback into the tournament.
Their tally of 12 points is the highest for any team that has finished last in the IPL. Had a couple of results gone their way, they would have remained in contention for play-offs.
“We hung tough as a group. In IPL, when the team is not going well, it can get toxic, but the players and everyone were committed to what we wanted to do as somewhere getting opportunities and some didn't. But the fact that we finished off well and it is a testament to the players that they were committed to the jersey, the franchise and also bow out well. So that we can look back and say 'what if and not what next.' And we have a good set of fans and it is our obligation to play well and players responded to it,” Fleming added.