IPL 2019: 5 things Chennai Super Kings have done right to become the most successful T20 team in the world

The defending champions of the IPL, Chennai Super Kings are the most successful T20 team in the world in terms of win percentage. They have won 61.56% of their matches across 9 seasons and have qualified for the playoffs every single time. Out of the 9 playoff appearances, only 2 times they have crashed out before the final and 3 times they have lifted the trophy, the joint-most in IPL.

Add to it, their 2 Champions League titles, which again is the joint-most, and there is no match in terms of consistency and success for the Men in Yellow. They also have a positive head-to-head record against every team except MI.

CSK are the only team to reach the playoffs every single time they have played. Also, they are the only team to successfully defend their IPL title, when they won back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011. As Harsha Bhogle said, there has to be something that CSK do right that they have been so consistent.

Here we look at 5 such things which have made CSK the team they are now:

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#5 Continuity of the squad

Stats show that teams who change their teams less often tend to win more matches. CSK have the least player-changed-per-match ratio (1.28) among all IPL teams over the years, and the best average final finishing position (nearly 2), the best among all teams. Over the years it has also been seen that players tend to perform better when they play together for a longer period.

CSK undoubtedly cracked this code before any other team. Right from the first season, they have been a team reluctant to chop and change the team too much. They change their XI only when absolutely necessary or if condition demands, but never as knee-jerk reactions to losses.

With a stable XI, players tend to play freely and their natural game takes the center stage. Also continuity leads to selflessness in the game. No doubt teams maintaining continuity in the squad tend to get the best out of their players.

#4 Banking on multi-dimensional players

CSK have always invested in multi-dimensional players

Dhoni has always been a skipper who likes to get at least 6-8 overs from his top 6 and 30-50 runs from his bottom four every game. No matter if he requires them or not, he likes to keep the options with him on the field. This is the reason why CSK have banked on all-rounders right from the beginning of the IPL. From Morkel, Kemp and Oram in the first season to Jadeja, Bravo, Karn Sharma, Watson and Santner in the current squad, CSK have always maintained a bunch of quality all-rounders in their squad.

Not only all-rounders, but CSK also tend to acquire players who can play multiple roles and be flexible according to the requirements of the team. The current squad has Watson, Rayudu, and Faf as opening options, with the latter two being converted to openers by CSK over the years. Mike Hussey, who batted most of his career in the middle order, transformed himself into a reliable opener for CSK, just like Faf and Rayudu.

The ones to follow -- Raina, Dhoni, Jadhav, and Billings can all play at any position between 3 and 7. This trend has continued from the very first season when they often used Badrinath, Dhoni, and Morkel as floaters in the lineup.

#3 Not over-relying on star players

Billings played a match-winning knock against KKR where everyone else failed

Unlike most IPL teams, CSK have been a team which has never been too reliant on its star players. A close look at their success over the years gives an idea about the complete team effort on display from the yellow brigade. Just like the Aussies of the early 2000s, CSK always tend to find someone to rescue them from difficult situations.

The victorious campaign of 2018 is the best example, where 11 Man of the Match awards for CSK were won by 8 different players. Bravo, Billings, Dhoni, Ngidi, Jadeja, Watson, and Rayudu all emerged as heroes at different stages of the tournament. Every time they got into trouble, there emerged a new hero who bailed them out, be it the big names or the newcomers.

This has made them a very difficult team to beat as there is always someone who can change the course of the match and you just cannot write them off at any stage of the game.

#2 Retention of the core

CSK have always believed in retaining the core and the approach has been quite fruitful for them

CSK were the only team in the first mega-auctions in 2011 to retain most of their players who played for them in the 2010 season. The result was they became the first and only team to defend their title. Dhoni, Raina, Vijay, Hussey, Morkel, Badrinath, Ashwin, and Bollinger were some of the first choice XI players who were retained in that auction.

Ever since then, CSK have maintained the strategy of continuity not only in the playing XI but also in the squad selection. This not only helped in enhancing an already loyal fan base but also made the job for the management a lot easier as most of the players were already acquainted with the team culture and understood their roles.

Even in the 2018 season, when they returned after serving a two-year ban, they retained the majority of their core from the 2015 squad, Ashwin being the notable absentee. Despite not being in the reckoning for India in limited overs, Ashwin was in the radar of CSK only in order to retain the core. Not only that, the support staff including coach Stephen Fleming, bowling coach L Balaji and batting mentor Mike Hussey were all part of CSK before and hence drafting them in helped both the players as well as the coaches.

#1 CSK do not panic

Kedar Jadhav hit a six over the cow-corner to win the game against MI after facing three dots in the final over

On being asked about the difference between CSK and other teams, Jadeja answered - "Other teams panic". He answered this midway of the tournament when CSK had not even booked a place in the playoffs. His words which till then proved to be true, continued to be justified by his team in the latter stages, even in the all-important qualifier. There comes a situation in most games where the team which blinks first tends to lose control of the game. CSK have never been that side.

The Super Kings, much like their skipper, have always held their nerves in crunch situations, displaying immense composure and determination even during virtually unwinnable situations. The number of jailbreaks CSK have achieved and the frequency with which they pull off such nail-biting games makes them a team which cannot be written off at any stage of the game. So much was their impact that no target was considered safe against CSK in the 2018 season. The very first match saw Bravo turning the game on its head and then an injured Kedar finishing the game with utmost composure.

We have seen MS Dhoni winning so many games for India with his sheer composure, but CSK have the whole team playing in the same unperturbed way. No doubt they are the masters of heartbeats and the most successful T20 team in the world.

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