Scott Styris, the former New Zealand all-rounder, said he doesn’t think bottom-placed Chennai Super Kings can turn it around and reach the play-offs in the UAE. MS Dhoni-led CSK face a tough hurdle as they next take on arch-rivals defending champions Mumbai Indians on Friday in Sharjah.
Chennai Super Kings are reeling at the last spot of IPL 2020 points table with only six points and CSK not just need to win all their matches but also hope other results go their way.
Scott Styris: CSK Don’t Have Firepower To Turn Things Around
Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris who also represented CSK said he doesn’t believe MS Dhoni’s men have the firepower to turn it around and reach the play-offs of ongoing IPL 2020 from their current bottom position on the points table. CSK — the only team to have qualified for playoffs every season.
Chennai Super Kings have an experienced ageing squad. Still, the performances haven’t been up to expectations baring a few like batsman Faf Du Plessis and pacer Deepak Chahar in particular as the likes of Kedar Jadhav, Piyush Chawla and MS Dhoni himself have been extremely poor, to say the least.
Moreover, the side is plagued by injuries to key players like Dwayne Bravo as they miss the services of veterans Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh, both of whom opted out of IPL 2020 citing personal reasons. On Wednesday, all-rounder Dwayne Bravo was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament due to a groin injury.
The team management’s selection policies have also been questioned with seasoned campaigner last season’s purple cap holder Imran Tahir not given a chance to play even a single match. The likes of batsmen Rituraj Gaekwad and wicket-keeper Narayan Jagadeesan haven’t been given many opportunities.
“Short answer and it hurts me to say this, I don’t think so. I think they are the one side who are out of this tournament right now,” Scott Styris told Star Sports when asked about CSK’s chances.
“You could tell by Stephen Fleming’s press conference last match. He believes the life cycle of this team is gone. We have been talking about it for 3 years, an ageing, old team. When that is the case, the performances, at some stage, were supposed to fall off the cliff as age catches up. I think this year is the year.”
“I think they did well to get as far as they did last year. But there are so many match-winners in that CSK side who are a little bit older or not quite finding form. I can’t see them turning it around. Apart from Faf du Plessis, with his consistent performances, and Deepak Chahar, there are not much else.”
Chennai Super Kings are reeling at the bottom of the points table with just six points with only three wins in 10 matches so far. CSK still though have a chance to reach the play-offs. They not only have to win all of their remaining four matches but also hope a couple of other results go in their favour.
Scott Styris cites coach Stephen Fleming’s comments that the life cycle of CSK is gone as was evident from the non-performance of the veteran cricketers. CSK team management is unhappy with CSK’s progress and may drop several aged cricketers for the next season.
Scott Styris Points Out CSK Coach Stephen Fleming’s Comments That CSK Have Run Out Of Juice
As Scott Styris pointed out, CSK’s head coach Stephen Fleming conceded after their loss to Rajasthan that the squad has run out of juice, saying that the conditions in the UAE had made it that much more difficult for MS Dhoni’s men.
“It’s fair to say looking at the table now that this team may have run out of juice. I think there’s an outside chance that we can get through, but when you’re relying on other results and a change of form for your own team, it’s hard to be upbeat and positive,” Fleming had said.
CSK will next face arch-rival MI in Sharjah on Friday and hope for a win as they look to find some rhythm towards the business end of the tournament.
CSK will next face the likes of Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab in their remaining upcoming matches. CSK have beaten Mumbai Indians in the opening match while also beating Punjab and Hyderabad too.