“Hardly Five Seconds”: MS Dhoni Once Revealed How CSK Had No Team Meeting Before IPL 2018 Final Win

Indian Premier League 2018 was special for Chennai Super Kings. They were making a comeback in the tournament after serving a two-year suspension period. The return was a brilliant one as they managed to win their third IPL title by defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final at the Wankhede Stadium.

It has been often said that Chennai’s management is one of the best in the tournament and they don’t put too much of pressure on the players. CSK’s captain MS Dhoni highlighted the fact that the team had no team meeting ahead of the title-deciding match.

In a data-driven world, every opposition batter and bowler is discussed minutely by the teams across the globe. Super Kings, on the other hand, believe that the players should be allowed to enjoy themselves on the field without too much of data feeding during a match. We have seen the results of the same on the field as well.

MS Dhoni Once Revealed How CSK Had No Team Meeting Before IPL 2018 Final Win

Talking to the reporters after winning the trophy, Dhoni had said that they hardly had a five-second talk ahead of the last game of the season. He insisted that playing cricket is not rocket science. This is maybe the secret of success behind Chennai’s consistency in all these years.

“The team meeting that we had, lasted hardly five seconds. [Stephen] Fleming was like, ‘Go, get it boys.’ And it got over. We don’t have too many meetings because we’ve played so long with each with other, against each other,” Dhoni told reporters.

There is no hiding to the fact that too many tactics and stats have certainly affected the teams in a negative way as well. Nowadays, the captains don’t want a left-arm spinner to bowl against left-handed batters. Recently, Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders played against each other in an IPL 2023 game where Punjab’s captain Shikhar Dhawan did not use left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar despite him bowling a brilliant first over due to the same reason.

Since the game is not played on paper, the captains should not become mechanical just because of the presence of analysts in the dressing room. Backing players and not putting an unwanted load on them is also necessary. Super Kings’ model is one of the best in the tournament and their performances without many star names is a testament to the same.

Chennai Super Kings Have Reached The Most IPL Finals

Out of 16 IPL editions, CSK have been a part of 14 of them. Out of 14, they have reached the final 10 times which is an extraordinary stat for any team to achieve. Dhoni has led them on all these occasions and he is still going strong with his leadership abilities.

If they can defeat Gujarat Titans in IPL 2023 final tonight, it will be their fifth title and they will equal Mumbai Indians in terms of total trophies won.