CSK Don't Find But Make Players - Aakash Chopra Lauds MS Dhoni's Captaincy In IPL 2021

Former India batsman Aakash Chopra applauded MS Dhoni’s captaincy in the IPL 2021 where the Chennai Super Kings turned their position on the points table – from second to last in the previous season to second from the top this season, before the tournament came to a pause.

Aakash Chopra observed a change in the captaincy of the CSK skipper this year, compared to last year, as it brought results in their favor. He pointed out that Dhoni had plenty of bowling options at his disposal in the games this year – helped largely by the inclusion of Moeen Ali – while last year he looked handcuffed with five genuine options in the eleven.

“One thing I liked a lot was MS Dhoni’s captaincy. We could see a change in his captaincy from last year to this year. Last year we saw Dhoni, he had only five bowlers at the start and he made changes quickly,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

They give time and keep faith in their selections: Aakash Chopra

One of the key reasons for CSK’s success, not just this year but over the course of the IPL, Aakash Chopra believes is that the franchise backs its players to the hilt.

He cites the example of Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was dropped after a couple of games last season. However, he was given the opportunity by the end of the tournament last year and returned with three consecutive fiftues. Hence, Dhoni and Stephen Fleming persisted with the youngster this season despite his three early failures; Gaikwad then scored two fifties in the next three innings, repaying the faith shown in him.

“Ruturaj didn’t score runs and he was dropped. Narayan Jagadeesan was dropped, players were getting dropped very quickly. But this time in seven encounters, seven Indians played continuously. He did not change a single Indian player.

“The overseas changes were only injury-related. Moeen Ali got injured, so he got Dwayne Bravo to get an all-rounder. He also thought of playing a spinner as Moeen Ali’s spin will not be there.

“The tactical changes were absolutely fine but MS Dhoni not making the changes shows the confidence he had. It is because of this CSK and MS Dhoni are special, they are not trigger-happy, they give time and keep faith in their selections. Because of this they don’t find but make players,” concluded the former opener.

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