Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni
Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore are two of the most high-profile teams in the Indian Premier League. One is led by former Indian skipper MS Dhoni and the other by the present incumbent Virat Kohli. Yet they two franchises have had contrasting fortunes. CSK made it to the playoffs in all the 10 IPL season they have played so far, winning thrice and ending as runners-up on five other occasions. RCB, on the other hand, have never won the IPL title. In 12 seasons, they reached the playoffs five times and finished bottom of the table twice in their last two seasons.
Former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum, who has played for both the franchises explained the differences in the fate of the two IPL teams, the excerpts of which are in a book titled “Cricket 2.0: Inside the T20 Revolution”.
"One team gives selection loyalty and works on the team they have; the other chases a perfect team and doesn't have a blueprint for how they are going to play."
When the quotes were shared by Cricbuzz on their Twitter page and fans were asked if they agreed upon the difference, former CSK player Albie Morkel replied saying, 'Yes'.
Later, in an interview with Sportstar, he also explained the impact that Dhoni has had on CSK.
“He plays a big role. We all know how big Dhoni is in India. He is one of the best T20 and white-ball players ever to play the game and if you get him as a leader, it is going to bring success as he knows how to get the best out of his players,” Albie Morkel told Sportstar.
“It all comes from keeping your core group of players together for a long time and have the same captain, Dhoni, for all seasons except for the two years when they weren’t part of the competition. Consistency is their secret. Over the last few seasons, they have made the finals eight times out of 10,” he added.
The highlight between the two teams were seen clearly in their approaches in 2019. West Indies youngster Shimron Hetmyer was roped in for GBP 475,000 by RCB but the franchise only played him four times - thrice in the middle order and once as an opener. He managed only 15 runs. Bangalore lost all those four games and RCB dropped him for nine straight games. Hetmyer, however, played the final group game for RCB and he scored 75. The team was bu then eliminated from the race to the playoffs.
CSK on the other hand, had Watson suffering from a similar problem. He averaged only 18.75 in his first eight innings. But CSK backed him immensely and Watson bounced back scoring 251 runs in the next eight innings with three half-centuries including one in the final.
