‘We need to change our core’ – MS Dhoni looking at the next generation to carry on CSK’s legacy in the IPL

Prior to the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL), Chennai Super Kings (CSK) faced a lot of ridicule, forming a team with aged players. However, MS Dhoni and Co silenced the critics, winning the championship. In 2019, the Yellow Army, tantalisingly, missed out, getting beaten by Mumbai Indians (MI) by one run in the final. However, the team ran out of gas a wee bit in the 2020 edition of the T20 league.

CSK, for the first time in the history of the IPL, couldn’t make the playoffs. Despite winning their last three league games, Dhoni’s men fell short of the top four, finishing seventh in the points table. After the Men in Yellow defeated the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in Abu Dhabi, Dhoni admitted the need of changing CSK’s core and looking at the next generation of cricketers to carry on their legacy.

“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 for us. There comes a time where you have to shift a bit, change a bit and hand it over to the next generation. That’s what will be the policy, try to form a strong core group,” Dhoni was quoted as saying in the post-match presentation ceremony.

I don’t think we played to the full potential: MS Dhoni

CSK started their journey, getting past MI by five wickets at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. But from there onwards, they huffed and puffed and were always behind the 8-ball as far as qualifying for the playoffs was concerned. Dhoni said that the Super Kings made a lot of mistakes and coming back with their back pushed to the walls wasn’t an easy task by any means.

“It was a difficult campaign. We committed a lot of errors. The last four games were a template of where we would like to be. 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,” he added.