Former Chennai Super Kings teammates Suresh Raina and Ravichandran Ashwin spoke at length about what sets Chennai Super Kings apart from other franchises in the Indian Premier League. With no cricket being played due to coronavirus pandemic, former and current players are engaging with fans on social media to keep themselves entertained.
Raina joined Ashwin for a live video chat session on popular social media platform Instagram and the duo spoke about various things during their time together at CSK.
The Chennai-based franchise is one of the most successful teams in the history of the cash-rich league. Apart from winning the title three times, they have also entered the playoffs in every edition of the tournament thay they have participated in.
Ashwin feels the presence of skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni takes a lot of pressure away from the other players while Raina claimed the the franchise treats every player like family and that has helped them play consistency over the years.
“At CSK most of the pressure is taken way by the presence of Mahi bhai and because of the victories that we had… the oneness of the team,” Ashwin said.
“The franchise also looks after each and every aspect of the player. They also look after their families… that is what I felt when we came back after two years and won the title. Our families were there, kids were playing. You know how things are… we play a lot of matches and travel a lot and the presence of kids help us remain calm,” Raina chipped in.
Over the years, CSK have drawn flak from pundits and social media for focussing too much on older players in the auction but Ashwin believes experience is what wins you matches in the shortest format.
“Initially people talked about how T20 is a young man’s sport. But over the years I have felt it can be dealt only by experienced people. People who have the experience of playing for years are the one’s who have been delivering for years,” Ashwin said.