IPL 2020 | Very confident that MS Dhoni will lead CSK in 2021, claims Kasi Viswanathan

It has been a year to forget for Chennai Super Kings as nothing has gone their way since landing in the United Arab Emirates. Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh pulled out, citing personal reasons, and with a cluster of Covid cases breaking out, it was impossible for them to have the right amount of practise ahead of the season.

All of that probably had a bearing in the season with the CSK playing lacking the required intent to go for the kill and MS Dhoni held back way too much, resulting in mediocre batting performance a game after another. That gave rise to the possibility that CSK might restructure their entire squad for the upcoming season, with a new set of players taking over, but CEO Kasi Viswanathan claimed that Dhoni will be at the helm of the affairs once again.

"Yes, definitely. I am very confident that Dhoni will lead CSK in 2021. He has won three titles for us in the IPL. This is the first year we have not qualified for the playoffs. No other team has done that. One bad year does not mean we will have to change everything," Viswanathan told TOI on Monday.

"We didn't play to our potential this season. We lost games that we should have won. That pushed us back. The withdrawals of Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh coupled with Covid cases in the camp meant that the balance of the side was upset," he added.

CSK have two matches left this season and even though they are already eliminated from the playoffs race, they have the power to disrupt the dynamics for other teams. This was also the first time the Southern Indian franchise have been out of the playoffs race in the IPL, having succeeded 10 out of 10 times in the past.