R Ashwin says MS Dhoni's leadership traits changed CSK's fortunes forever

Ravichandran Ashwin has said that Mahendra Singh Dhoni has transformed the Chennai Super Kings with his leadership traits. MS Dhoni has been leading CSK ever since the inception of IPL in 2008. He has led them to three titles and five finals. The Chennai franchise has also managed to reach the playoffs in all seasons (except the 2016 and 2017 editions as they were handed a two-year suspension along with 2008 winners Rajasthan Royals for their alleged involvement in the match-fixing scandal). 

'He transformed the whole franchise': Ravichandran Ashwin

“I know a lot over the years, in terms of how CSK has come through, how MS has transformed the whole franchise and what it means to him,” said Ashwin during his interaction with the 'Voice of Indian Cricket' Harsha Bhogle on Cricbuzz live.

“For me, CSK is a team that was driven by MS’ leadership traits. A lot of people talk about MS’ leadership. My leadership in itself is what is going to come out of me having been a leader in the last couple of years,” he added.

“It think MS’s middle-order batsmanship is not talked about enough. In franchise cricket, or T20 cricket or any format of white-ball cricket, the most difficult art to master is middle-order batsmanship. A leader inspires a team by pulling them out from deep trenches, MS has done it way too many more times than anybody I have seen".  “MS Dhoni’s leadership has always been “you guys enjoy it, I will take care of the tumultuous moments. He has done it nine out of ten times, pulling his team out of trenches. He puts the onus on himself and very often pulls the team out of trouble. If that’s not a man to rally behind at a franchise, who else would you for?,” the two-time IPL winner added. 

Ashwin was a part of CSK from 2010 to 2015 and was an integral member of the 'Yellow Army' when they had won back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011 respectively. When the three-time winners were suspended for two years, both Ashwin and Dhoni had played for the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016 and 2017  (Even though Ashwin was retained by the franchise, he backed out from participating in the 2017 season as he wanted some much-needed rest ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy later that year). 

When CSK was reinstated in 2018 where they made a successful comeback by winning their third title, the veteran offie was not picked by the franchise and he was eventually brought by the 2014 finalists Kings XI Punjab whom he captained for the next two seasons.

The Tamil Nadu cricketer was released by KXIP during the IPL 2020 Auctions and was brought by the Delhi Capitals. Meanwhile, Mahi was all set to lead CSK in IPL 2020 that was originally scheduled to get underway on March 29 but has been indefinitely suspended as of now due to the global pandemic. The IPL 2020 would have also marked MSD's return to competitive cricket for the first time since that heartbreaking World Cup 2019 semi-final loss at the hands of New Zealand in July last year.

(Image Courtesy: BCCI)

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