IPL 2020 | CSK’s future squad depends upon BCCI and IPL Auction, states MS Dhoni

After the win against defending champions Mumbai Indians in the first encounter, all eyes were on Chennai Super Kings’ aged squad to fight against the other young squads in the competition. Since the early win, CSK found themselves in a precarious position, where the results and the process were not going in their favour. Eventually, that eliminated them from the competition, becoming the first side to be out of the 2020 edition of IPL. 

However, towards the end of the tournament, they came back strongly, with three wins on the trot before exiting the competition. In the post-match presentation, MS Dhoni has stated that the three-time IPL champions’ future entirely depends upon BCCI and their decision regarding the 2021 IPL Auction. 

“You want to keep coming up with different ideas but if the dressing room atmosphere is not happy, it becomes very tough. A lot depends on what the BCCI decides upon the auction. We need to slightly change our core group and look for the next ten years. At the start of the IPL, we made a team and it served well. There comes a time where you have to shift a bit, hand it over to the next generation,” said Dhoni in the post-match presentation after CSK’s last encounter of IPL 2020. 

Regarding the season, Dhoni admitted that it was a painful and difficult one for them, with the team lagging behind the competition. However, the 39-year-old stated that he is very proud of the way the team finished in the competition, especially with the last few games, where they played their ‘A’ game. 

“It was a difficult campaign for us. I don't think we played to the full potential. If you are lagging too much, it becomes very difficult to push yourself and come up with performances. Very proud the way they played their cricket. It would have been very tough 6-7 games. You won't want to be in a dressing room that is not really enjoying cricket,” he added.

For the loyal CSK fans, as usual, Dhoni left a message, saying that the team, the franchise will return strongly in the next year. Regarding their young star, Ruturaj Gaikwad, who scored 204 runs in six games, the CSK skipper added that it was tough to gauge his talent after the right-handed opener missed a lot of practice sessions early on due to COVID-19. 

“We'll come back strong, that's what we are known for. This has been a tough year. This is one of the seasons most of the teams played well. He's (Ruturaj Gaikwad) somebody who has batted well. He got COVID and was out. Even after 20 days, he wasn't fit. He didn't get a lot of practice.”