CSK's batting concoction - an infusion of age-old ethos and next-gen flamboyance

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK), since their inception, have been a reflection of MS Dhoni, who captained them in almost every season up until 2024. The calmness, the composure, the backing of players, the persona, the aura – everything that you associate with CSK is also synonymous with Dhoni.

It was, thus, not a surprise that their brand of cricket also mirrored that of Dhoni. The master of the 50-over game, the former captain ensured CSK used those principles to attain T20 success too.

The five-time winners would, more often than not, build a foundation at the start, not worry too much about the run-rate and then up the ante as the innings progressed. It helped that they always had these high-class finishers in their ranks – the likes of Albie Morkel, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja and Dhoni, but their approach seemed clear and set in stone.

The season of 2020 and then of 2022, though, laid bare a few truths. That the T20 game had moved along, and that being more proactive was perhaps the need of the hour. That batters, rather than prioritising batting till the end, now needed to accelerate much earlier than before. And that, simply more runs needed to be put up on the board when batting first.

CSK bat very deep and have plenty of firepower

In international cricket, England are the perfect case study for this method. On most days, they have batting till No.9 or 10, and that allows those above to keep taking risks. CSK seemed to be heading in that direction in 2021, where they stacked their line-up with stroke-makers. Bravo, who was still active in international cricket at the time, only faced 18 balls throughout the season, indicating how much firepower was left unused in the shed.

Last season, though, was probably when CSK completely adopted this new approach and definitively stepped into what many believe is now the T20 blueprint.

The five-time winners managed 15 fifty-plus scores in 2023. None of their batters scored a hundred, and Devon Conway had the most fifties (six). Ruturaj Gaikwad had four, Shivam Dube had three and Ajinkya Rahane had two.

The rest, namely Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali, Dhoni and Jadeja made no fifty. However, only the Mumbai Indians had more scores (six as compared to five) in excess of 200, which given the difference in surfaces at Chepauk and at the Wankhede Stadium, shows how excellently CSK batted throughout the 2023 edition. That they had the second highest run-rate batting first, only drives that point home.

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru, for context, had 22 fifty-plus scores. The Gujarat Titans, another belligerent batting outfit, had 18 fifty-plus scores; MI had 17. For further context, the Delhi Capitals, the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Rajasthan Royals, all of whom missed the playoffs, had 14, 15 and 16 fifty-plus scores, respectively.

This clearly illustrates that CSK, rather than wanting their batters to bat deep and rack up those fifty-plus scores, were content to trade it with more knocks that comprised of fewer balls but arguably had a greater impact. The trade-off is only possible because they have built a team that bats really deep, and can just keep going after it.

Glance quickly at the 2023 final. CSK were chasing more than 11 runs per over across 15 overs. They hunted down that score off the last ball, with Jadeja writing himself into folklore. No batter, though, went past fifty that evening.

A few days ago, against RCB, Rachin Ravindra’s 37 was the highest score. All of their batters got into double digits and the five-time champions chased down 174 with relative ease. The most balls a batter faced that night? 28 by Dube.

Had someone said this was going to be adopted at CSK pre-2020, they’d have probably been laughed at – that was how set in stone their build-slowly-and-then-tee-off approach was. Now, it has evolved.

There will, of course, be days when the extra risk-taking leads to some meagre totals, but if teams are good enough with their stroke-play, they can put up big scores on the board, which in turn will lead to more success than failure.

In fact, there seems to be so much clarity that this may even be pinned on their drawing board and might actually be how their innings is mapped out.

The openers, on an ideal day, bat 30 balls apiece. The next two then have 15 balls apiece to themselves, and the rest then split up the remaining 30 balls. The common thread here being scoring as quickly as possible, and if they bat longer, to maintain that intensity till they are at the crease.

Cricket, of course, is not as black-and-white (or should not be), but given the way they have been playing lately, it is hard to think that they have no brief of such sort.

CSK also seem to have stopped paying heed to batting positions, rather sending in batters based on what they feel is needed in a situation, and if the batter’s role fits that mould. Dube’s entry points last season was a case in point. He almost always walked in when the spinners had begun operating, and before the back half of the middle overs, mostly after the start of the ninth over and before the end of the twelfth over.

If a wicket fell earlier, Rahane strode out and he had the license to throw caution to the wind. With Daryl Mitchell equally adept at averting a collapse and building on a solid foundation, expect this alternation to continue. A key facet here is that while CSK have specific roles for everyone, the players they have, are also capable of playing two parts on any given day, which again, is an ode to their flexibility and versatility.

For this to work, the entire team has to buy into it, as simple as that. Complete clarity should be provided too. Because of how particular every little detail is, a slight deviation, just because a batter does not feel secure, could be detrimental.

Plenty of work behind the scenes also needs to be put in by the team management to ensure that the players feel backed, and that even when difficult things are asked of them, faith is kept.

The backing is hugely important because it helps their batters play with freedom, enables them to utilize as many of the batting resources at their disposal and piles on more problems for the opposition, simply because they have almost eight or nine ball-strikers to worry about.

For example, Moeen and Rayudu, given the seasons they were having in 2023, might have been dropped by other teams. CSK, though, stuck by them. Not just because of their pedigree, but also because they had a unique part to play. And while neither registered a fifty, they played vital cameos in the Qualifier and the final, respectively.

In isolation, these roles are very, very specific. They may not make social media reels, or disrupt existing national selection debates. But what it achieves is inescapable.

CSK, in many ways, have resembled a chef in the past few years. A chef who has a recipe that is an old favourite and is a timeless hit but has now found a sparkling new seasoning, which makes the dish better, more appealing and zestier to the new generation, all while staying true to its original taste.

The ‘horses for courses’ policy deployed so commonly around the world is still not something you would find at CSK. And unless things unravel spectacularly, it will be that set of 13-14 players who will keep playing. If they do not live up to expectations, a hand will be put around their shoulder, but it will almost never be strong enough to shove them acrimoniously out of the door mid-season.

That is what great teams, across sport, do. They do not change who they are. They retain their identity, and just make alterations that help them stay ahead of the curve.

CSK, thus, are the perfect ensemble cast. Where selflessness stems from security, and faith breeds fearlessness. Where the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts. And where, season after season, they keep the age-old ethos alive and infuse it with next-gen flamboyance to brew up the ideal batting concoction.