No Ashwin, the returns of Chennai Super Kings and Manchester United are not 'similar'

“Think before you speak” – a lesson extremely important yet widely ignored. When you carry the potential of creating a chaos, you are buried knee-deep in criticisms because of your performance and the time has not been your best friend lately, the ideal thing to do is to mince your words before blurting them out in public. Unfortunately, Ravichandran Ashwin forgot to recall these lessons and rightfully invited controversies via the comments he made earlier today.

Let us rewind and visit the hour when Ashwin thought it was ‘Okay’ for him to compare the 'return’ of Chennai Super Kings and Manchester United. He stated that CSK’s return is ‘similar’ to that of Manchester United post the air-crash tragedy that struck the English club in 1958.

"I think the two-year hiatus for CSK probably increases its value much like what it did for Manchester United when the air crash happened. I don't know if it's in the same league but surely people in Chennai and fans across the world are waiting for CSK to return. I hope it turns out to be a good comeback.”

For starters, does he realise that the two stories he attempted to intertwine do not even deserve to be narrated simultaneously?

No, I am not going to tear down this comparison between CSK and Manchester United for the striking differences in their history and the timeline of the team/club since its inception. I will also refrain from criticising this comparison despite the fact that the two franchises carry two different legacies. You are welcome to draw parallels between them based on any of these grounds.

But how can you casually project the idea that the ‘return’ of CSK in the IPL resembles the 'return’ of Manchester United in the European Cup? Ashwin's statement is an amalgam of both factual and logical fallacy which is beyond justification, irrespective of the common grounds he invented in this case. I detest this attempted paralleling solely on the context of the discussed 'return’ of both these teams in their respective leagues.

Let me break this down for you in details

The first scenario includes the IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings. In the year 2015, the Lodha Panel suspended the owners of two IPL franchises – Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals after their owners were found guilty of betting and being involved in the spot-fixing scandals. As per the IPL rules, their teams were also suspended from the league for two years. After having served two years of suspension, both the teams are now set to return to the Indian Premier League.

Ashwin, who was also an inherent part of the success tales of CSK, was obviously excited about the return. However, in his excitement, he failed to fathom the contradictions that are cusped in the situation which he ‘unintentionally’ referred to.

Our second scenario includes the tragedy that struck Manchester United. On February 6, 1958, the aircraft carrying the Man United side along with their supporters and few journalists crashed in Munich when the plane stopped in the German city for refuelling. The team was returning from Yugoslavia after having played a match against the Red Stars in the European Cup. Twenty three out of forty-four passengers died in the mishap. The club lost eight of its players including Duncan Edwards, Tommy Taylor and Roger Byrne – the core of the side famously known as the Busby Babes.

Manchester United were struck by a tragic air-crash in 1958

Now, let us come back to the comparison that was drawn by Ashwin and understand why it was wrong of him to try and bring these two scenarios on the same page.

Firstly, the reasons behind the exit of both these teams are discrete in nature. Due to the tragic loss of more than half of their team, United had to discontinue their journey in the European Cup. It was their second successive semi-final in the tournament and the farewell was heart-rending.

The Chennai Super Kings, on the other hand, saw its owners being involved in fallacious activities which compromised with the image of the tournament as well as the sport. The former was a consequence of an accident whereas the latter was a ramification of a crime. There is a HUGE difference, Ashwin!

Secondly, there was no such ‘return’ of Manchester United as Ashwin claimed. During the tournament, United were running a successful campaign in their quest to become the third club to win three successive English titles. They still had fourteen games to go and were determined to achieve their historic triumph but fell prey to the brutality of time.

Post their unfortunate exit, the club was again invited by UEFA to play in the 1958-59 European Cup. Since they had not qualified to move further, the Red Devils had to quit their journey. The club resumed playing in the tournament the next year and that dissolves the existence of the so called ‘return' of the team.

However, CSK was in the disputed final of the 2015 edition of IPL playing against the eventual champions, Mumbai Indians. The news about the matches being fixed was doing rounds in the media for quite some time. And CSK's position in the finals was being criticised by the mass.

In fact, their loss in the finals was perceived as a move to avoid more controversies. The tournament ended on a disgraceful note. CSK was suspended for two years, the two-time title holders were shown the way out.

The actual return

CSK will be a part of the 2018 IPL which is the actual 'return' that Ashwin wished to compare.

This brings me to my next reason for scathing this absurd comparison. The mere idea to compare the aftermath of the exit of both these teams from their respective tournaments is self-sufficient in inviting mockery. United’s departure from the European Cup left their fans engulfed in agony because their heroes had bid an untimely farewell.There was nothing they could do except grieving over the unfortunate demise of the budding legends.

CSK's exit left their fans in a state of despair too. However, the reason behind the grief, in this case, was the betrayal by their heroes. The fans witnessed their passion and trust ridiculed by their champions.

Lastly, the fans poured their heart in support of Manchester United when they saw them attempting to recover from a catastrophe beyond their control. The then manager of the club, Matt Busby, survived the crash and took upon himself to rebuild the team. It took him ten years as he strived to attain the glory which the club was destined for.

In 1968, United became the first English club to win the European Cup. The unpredictable game of luck had dismantled the backbone of a team which had the potential to go down as one of the strongest sides in the history of English and may be world football. Yet, they fought adversities, struggled past the challenges and rose up again as the champions they truly are. This is the reason why their fans welcomed them with open arms.

CSK's return, however, is nowhere close to the brilliance with which United revived. It was arguably one of the strongest sides in the IPL, yet it was found in the thick of allegations that questioned every performance they had delivered so far. Can the fans accept CSK now without questioning the integrity of the team? Is it possible that the fans will forget why it was not a part of the IPL for two years? And most importantly, will they ever be able to forgive?

I do not need to apologise for bursting your bubble because beneath the quilt of the deliberate choice to ignore the ‘allegations’, there is a muzzled murmur voicing NO for each of these questions.

CSK was suspended for two years from the Indian Premier League

A more appropriate comparison

Well, if Ashwin felt the need of comparing CSK to a team/club/franchise from football, Juventus was an option he could have considered. This Italian football club was embracing new altars of success when it was recognised as one of the clubs being involved in the 2006 Italian football scandal. Their manager, Fabio Capello, was accused of rigging the football matches by selecting the favourable referees and the club was stripped of the two titles they won in 2004 and 2005 under him.

The Old Lady was relegated to Serie B and made their comeback to Serie A in the 2007-08 season and the rest is history. It would have been fairly acceptable if CSK was expected to revive their glory in the 'similar' manner when Ashwin wanted to draw a comparison.

It is unfair on his part to bring two completely paradoxical instances on the same page in order to construct a ‘glorified’ image of a team that was evidently involved in the dishonest practices. Irrespective of all his attempts to paint a positive image of his team ahead of its return, he cannot help but accept that CSK will be subjected to scrutiny by every pair of eyes that will rest on it. The suspecting gaze will take a lot of time to soften and no comparison can act as a catalyst in this process.

If only Ashwin paused to contemplate the ‘similarity’ he was openly advocating. Sigh!