Mike Hussey, the batting coach of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is excited about CSK’s prospect and wants MS Dhoni to bat at No. 4 in the upcoming IPL 2020 in UAE. Hussey chatted exclusively from his country Australia and despite being excited — he also insists that being in a bio-bubble will not be easy. He also noted that MS Dhoni, the skipper is ideally accustomed to batting at No. 4, adding that the middle-order should be flexible.
IPL 2020 originally scheduled for March in India was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will finally be held in the Emirates starting from September 19, 2020. Strict measures and lockdowns imposed in various states of India have given BCCI no other option but to move IPL abroad.
In UAE too, strict measures like staying in a biosecure bubble, no or minimal crowds, and restrictions on loitering around or visiting places will be adhered to as well. Indian players will be rusty as they have not been in contact with cricket since lockdowns were imposed in March meaning that they had to stay at home most of the time.
Mike Hussey: CSK Players Must Be Disciplined And Adapt To Conditions
Mike Hussey says CSK is lucky to have a lot of experienced players with a vast knowledge of cricket in their ranks, but they have to prepare well and be ready for performing well in UAE.
Bio-bubble and protocols to be followed will not be easy for the players as they have not faced this situation before, but they have to be disciplined and should be sincere and strict to the rules. He also said that every player has to adapt to the conditions in UAE.
Mike Hussey: CSK Will Play With Same Intensity Even In Empty Stadiums
Mike Hussey feels that batting is their strength, but they have a well-balanced team covering all the skills. They will surely miss the services of S Badrinath who have left and later retired, but Mike Hussey is unsure of the team’s combination in batting. He also said that CSK will play with the same intensity even if the stadiums are empty and there is no crowd to support them. CSK will work together as a team giving their very best.
CSK will have a lot of foreign recruits this year like Sam Curran, Josh Hazlewood, Lungi Ngidi, and Mitchell Santner besides their experienced retained quartet of Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, Faf Du Plessis, and Imran Tahir as foreign cricketers.
They will have a bulk of experienced Indian cricketers in the likes of Harbhajan Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Murali Vijay, Ravindra Jadeja, Piyush Chawla, Suresh Raina, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni himself besides youngsters like Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur and Rituraj Gaikwad to name a few.
CSK has lifted IPL thrice in 2010,2011 and 2018 and has the best win percentage besides appearing in the playoffs and finals of the IPL maximum times and are the only IPL team to qualify for playoffs in every edition.