IPL 2018: CSK’s five lessons for the corporate world
After making a comeback from their two-year suspension, Chennai Super Kings reinforced their supremacy by winning their third IPL title by beating Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets in the final at the Wankhede stadium.
Before the start of the tournament, very few gave MS Dhoni and co. a chance to go all the way in the tournament but the Men in Yellow defied all odds and went on to win the tournament in an emphatic manner.
Right from the retentions till the final, Chennai Super Kings offered many learnings to people from different walks of life. Let us take a look at five lessons they taught the corporate world.
Flexibility
They first mocked the Chennai Super Kings for being a geriatric side. Then, as CSK began to notch up wins in rapid succession, they better appreciated the virtues of experience.
By the time the team had lifted its third IPL title, the aforementioned naysayers - read fans and pundits - were convinced that loading the side with players over the age of 30 was the new winning formula. But, MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming, captain and coach of the side respectively, continued to remain pragmatic about what they wanted.
While Dhoni reiterated it was more about the fitness of the players than their age itself, Fleming said theirs was the right team “for this year.” That he qualified the statement with a time-stamp is indicative of an approach that’s not set in stone and is instead in sync with the situation.
There was another illustration of their ability to resolve crises on the fly when they were forced to shift their home games from Chennai to Pune following protests over the Cauvery water-sharing issue in Tamil Nadu.
Having picked a spin-heavy squad for the slow surfaces at Chepauk, CSK had to adapt to quicker surfaces in Pune despite not having the right kind of personnel for the conditions. Dhoni, however, found ways to either paper over the cracks or find the fast bowlers that would step up to the plate every now and then.