Having Played 46 Matches For CSK, Muttiah Muralitharan Deciphers MS Dhoni’s Secret Formula To Reach IPL Playoffs

Been in India for the last week or so to promote his recently released biopic titled ‘800’, former Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan also paid a visit to YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia for his podcast named The Ranveer Show. Part of two title-winning campaigns at Chennai Super Kings, Muralitharan elucidated how captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni attempts to qualify for the playoffs in the cash-rich league.

Only cricketer in the history of cricket to win ICC World Twenty20, ICC Cricket World Cup and ICC Champions Trophy as a captain, Dhoni’s deft ways as an astute strategist have seen him emerge as arguably the most successful captains in the biggest T20 league across the globe as well. Even at 41, the legendary wicket-keeper batter led CSK to their fifth IPL title earlier this year.

Chennai, whose both Champions League Twenty20 titles have also come under Dhoni, have qualified for IPL playoffs 12 out of 13 times under him – a record which is next to impossible to be matched in the future.

Muttiah Muralitharan Deciphers MS Dhoni’s Secret Formula To Reach IPL Playoffs

In one of the segments of the podcast, Muralitharan was asked to compare leadership styles of former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga and Dhoni. For the unversed, the champion spinner had made his Test and ODI debuts under Ranatunga. In fact, it was Ranatunga who had stood up for Muralitharan by leading Sri Lanka off the field in a protest against umpires on their tour of Australia around three decades ago.

Quick to put on record that Ranatunga and Dhoni are entirely different as leaders, Muralitharan described the former as a “very strong and forceful leader”.

On the other hand, he used terms such as “calm and quiet” for the latter. Labeling the 42-year old as a man of few words who doesn’t believe in conducting elongated team meetings, the right-arm bowler also revealed how Dhoni provides bowlers the freedom to set their own fields. That said, he also deciphered Dhoni’s secret formula to reach IPL playoffs.

“Sometimes in [the] IPL, you play 14 games. His [MS Dhoni] target is [that] you’re bound to lose some games. You can’t win everything. So, you’re going to lose. He thinks if you win seven games [out of 14], you have a chance of getting to the qualifiers. Then, after that, do or die [in the knockout round]. That kind of policies he has,” Muralitharan said on TRS Clips.

While teams mostly tend to rely on the NRR (Net Run Rate) after winning seven league matches in the IPL, eight victories during the round robin stage guarantees them a spot for the next round. Out of the 12 times Super Kings have been part of IPL playoffs under Dhoni, they have won seven and 11 league matches once each, eight matches four times and nine six times.

Muttiah Muralitharan Had Represented CSK Between 2008-2010

After Dhoni, it is to be noted that Muralitharan was Chennai’s second preferred pick during the inaugural IPL auction in 2008. Muralitharan, who later represented Kochi Tuskers Kerala (2011) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (2012-2014), played three seasons at CSK. In addition to winning IPL 2010 with them, he was also part of a title-winning Champions League campaign later the same year.

In a total of 46 matches for the franchise across four tournaments, Muralitharan had picked 52 wickets at an average of 21.65, an economy rate of 6.28 and a strike rate of 20.67.

Super Kings’ fourth-highest wicket-taker in 2008, Muralitharan was their best bowler in the second season which was played in South Africa. Having managed to repeat the feat when the team lifted the silverware for the first time the following year, Muralitharan was their second-highest wicket-taker in CLT20 2010.

Ace Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who had dismissed more batters than Muralitharan during that competition, eventually replaced him in the squad as a first-choice spinner. With Ashwin having also played international cricket by then, his emergence as an Indian spinner was so strong that Muralitharan wasn’t part of the franchise’s top four retained players before IPL 2011 auction.