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MS Dhoni, who was stand-in captain in the last IPL season where Chennai Super Kings finished at the bottom of the table for the first time, has admitted that the franchise has holes in the squad which they would try to plug in at the upcoming mini-auctions. With just 4 wins from 14 matches, in the absence of regular skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, the five-time champions had an underwhelming campaign with Dhoni taking over the captaincy mid-way through the season.
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With batting resources failing to contribute as a unit, Chennai were outbatted in most of the games before they found some sort of momentum towards the end. With a number of their first-choice picks at the auction failing to make an impact, it was their replacement picks – Ayush Mhatre, Urvil Patel and Dewald Brevis – who injected a much-needed intent to the batting unit. While the trio’s arrival has already bolstered Chennai’s batting, they still appear a long way away from assembling a squad that can be in the race for the play-offs.
Ahead of next season, with most teams already having a settled unit, Chennai do have a tough challenge ahead in terms of building a strong outfit. Dhoni, who turned 44 this July, still remains their frontline keeper with Urvil being the lone other gloveman in the set-up. While Dhoni’s future as a player still remains in doubt, the former captain said they are more or less sorted on the batting front.
“There were certain holes that we need to plug in. I think our batting order is quite sorted out now. Rutu (Gaikwad) will be coming back. A small auction is coming in December. You know some holes are there, and we will try to plug those in. But again, you have to be at your best at the start of the tournament. You have to get the planning right. You have to use the resources in the best possible manner. Even the fans feel disappointed, but also the fact is the players always feel more disappointed than the fans. So we do talk about the processes. But at the same time here. We do want the result to come to our side. Last year wasn’t there. But looking ahead we will try to sort out most of the things. And we will hopefully be at our best,” Dhoni said at the launch of Maxvision Eye Super Speciality hospital in Chennai.
Dhoni, who led the franchise to five IPL titles as captain, revealed that the franchise hasn’t been up to the mark in the last two seasons. “The beauty of sport is how good you look on paper doesn’t matter. Because what you actually do on the field is the stuff that really matters. And in a tournament like IPL, what you do consistently over a period of time matters. And then pull your socks up once you get into the knockout stage and come out with another beautiful maybe two or three performances. And that’s how you win trophies. The last couple of years have not been good for us. We have not, you can say, up to the mark. Whatever the reasons may be. What is important is to see the learnings. It’s not about what you have done in the past 15-16 years. Next year when you turn up again, you have to start from scratch,” Dhoni said.
Ahead of the next season, there are talks of Chennai releasing a few players back into the auction pool with the future of the likes of Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi in question. There are also talks of a trade with Rajasthan Royals to bring in Sanju Samson. While the franchise officials have admitted their interest, as things stand no formal communication has taken place with Rajasthan. If Chennai are unable to trade the player, then it would be interesting to see if Dhoni would extend his playing career.
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