Chennai Super Kings will have to wait for another year to add to their five IPL titles after not advancing to the playoffs this season. Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated CSK to draw level on points but also beat them by a good enough margin to sneak past the title holders on the basis of a superior net run-rate in an IPL 2024 clash played on Saturday night.
CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad was disappointed but also pointed out the challenges – injuries and illnesses – the franchise had to deal with throughout the season forcing them to constantly tinker with their playing XI.
Before CSK would take the field in IPL 2024, they were handed a major injury blow when opening batter Devon Conway was ruled out owing to a thumb injury. And it was just the start.
They also had to suffer through the injuries to key bowlers including Deepak Chahar, Matheesha Pathirana, Mustafizur Rahman among others. Their batter Ajinkya Rahane also picked up a calf injury and dealt with a dip in form as well.
Additionally, multiple CSK players were struggling with flu at one stage.
“With the kind of injuries we had, missing out on two frontline bowlers, not having Conway at the top of the order as well. I think missing out on three key players made a huge difference,” Gaikwad said after the match.
“Credit to the CSK staff and everyone who put up a great show for us throughout the season. There were many challenges for us right throughout the first game. Injury to Fizz (Mustafizur), then injury to Pathirana as well – he came back and then again missed out. When you have injuries around, you have to get that balance in the team and pick it for every game. I think this season sums up well where we had to tinker around with our playing XI, considering the injuries and all the illness (to the players) as well,” he added.
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While CSK may not have been able to qualify for the playoffs, personally it was a successfull season for Gaikwad who finished with 583 runs from 14 matches – the most by any batter from his team.
“For me, personal milestones don’t really matter a lot, after all the ultimate goal is to win. If you are not getting there it’s a disappointment. Doesn’t matter if you score 100 runs or 500-600 runs in a season. I am disappointed,” Gaikwad said.
“Happy with the seven wins, couldn’t get over the line though. Happy with it. We got 10 from the last 2 balls in our last knockout game last year so this was a similar situation, things didn’t go our way though,” he added.
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