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IPL 2021: There was a renewed energy about Chennai Super Kings this year, says Sunil Gavaskar

All was going well for MS Dhoni’s CSK in IPL 2021 before their camp was hit by Covid-19 in the first week of May and the tournament got suspended indefinitely on May 4 due to the virus crisis.

MS Dhoni’s CSK returned to winning ways this year before Covid-19 halted IPL 2021 (Courtesy of PTI/BCCI)

HIGHLIGHTS

  • CSK had won 5 out 7 games before IPL 2021 was suspended indefinitely due to Covid-19
  • CSK had failed to qualify for the playoffs last year for the 1st time in IPL history
  • The CSK camp was hit by coronavirus after coaches Mike Hussey and L Balaji tested positive in the first week of May

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said Chennai Super Kings looked like the champion team of the past and had a renewed energy about them during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 before it was suspended indefinitely due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

CSK returned to winning ways this year and were 2nd on the points table with 5 victories from 7 games when the tournament was postponed on May 4.

The three-time champions took little time to turn their fortunes around in 2021 after enduring their worst-ever IPL season last year when they failed to make the playoffs for the first time in the tournament’s history.

“All the other teams were in top form with last year’s disappointing team, Chennai Super Kings, looking like the champion it usually had been all these years. There was a renewed energy about the team this time, though there were no major changes to its squad,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for the Sportstar.

Gavaskar lauded the team management’s decision to promote Moeen Ali up the batting order to No. 3 after buying the England all-rounder for a whopping Rs 7 crore at the IPL 2021 auction in February.

“The promotion of Moeen Ali to the top of the order at No. 3 turned out to be a masterstroke as the left-handed batsman produced some blistering innings. The seasoned Faf du Plessis was in cracking form, too, and, along with the promising Ruturaj Gaekwad, gave the team some top starts.

“Sam Curran continues to impress and improve with every game and bids fair to be considered a proper all-rounder now. It’s the final overs’ bowling that the side needs to strengthen as was evident in the match against Mumbai when, despite scoring 218, it lost the game off the last ball,” Gavaskar wrote.

All was going well for MS Dhoni’s team before their camp was hit by Covid-19 in the first week of May with batting and bowling coaches Michael Hussey and L Balaji, respectively, testing positive for the virus. The franchise’s CEO Kashi Viswanathan confirmed on Friday that Hussey has tested negative and is likely to fly back home from Chennai on Sunday.

A total of 6 players (4 KKR, 1 SRH, 1 DC), 2 coaches (both from CSK) and a bus cleaner tested positive for Covid-19 during IPL 2021, which witnessed just 29 matches this season before the BCCI temporarily pulled the plug on the tournament.

Click here for IndiaToday.in’s complete coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

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