Dwayne Bravo Shares Chennai Super Kings’ Secret To Success In IPL, Says ‘It’s Not Just MS Dhoni’s Captaincy’
Chennai: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is synonymous to captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But there is more to what people think according to bowling coach Dwayne Bravo. Known as the most successful team in the Indian Premier League, Bravo, a former player himself, attributes the consistent run to the lack of outside interference in the franchise. For the record, CSK is the most consistent side in the history of IPL, having made maximum appearances in the playoffs besides winning the tournament five times.
“There is no outside interference or pressure from owners, and they allow the players to be themselves. This is the beauty of this franchise,” Bravo said after joining the side in the pre-season camp. For the unknown, Dhoni led CSK to all its titles, the latest of it came in the previous season.
CSK did some incredible shopping in the auction in Dubai last year, getting the likes of Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell, Shardul Thakur and Mustafizur Rahman among notable names. Speaking about the team composition, the former West Indies all-rounder said, “It’s good. We have a very good squad. We want to continue from where we left off last season.
“We did some really great things with a very young bowling attack. This year, we get back Shardul (Thakur), which is a bonus. Fizz (Mustafizur Rahman) is also experienced and has quality. (Matheesha) Pathirana, we call him baby Malinga. Tushar Deshpande, who had a good last season. It feels good to work with these guys, and looking forward to the upcoming season,” Bravo added.
One of the leading wicket-takers in the history of IPL, Bravo called time on his career in 2022, but remained with the franchise as a role of the bowling coach. Bravo had replaced Laxmipathy Balaji in the role after the latter decide to take a break for one year due to personal commitments.
He was full of praise for new Team India players such as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad. “Jaiswal, he is an exciting talent and someone to always keep an eye out for. Tilak Verma is also another exciting talent I intend to look up to.”
Bravo backed opener Gaikwad to come good for CSK this season. “(Ruturaj) Gaikwad, for sure. He’s one of my favourites.” CSK open their campaign in the upcoming league with a match against Royal Challengers Bangalore here on March 22, the tournament’s opening day.