IPL 2018: Clearing the fog of revisionism in the wake of CSK's victory
Chennai Super Kings have won the IPL. MS Dhoni has yet another trophy in his cabinet. It is all sunshine and rainbows down south in the land where milk and honey flow in rivers, and nothing ever hurts.
Except, it will.
In the midst of all the revisionism that will take place in the next few weeks about how CSK's fairy-tale comeback was a masterstroke right from their genius auction strategy, let us take a few moments to actually consider if that is true.
Was it a good auction for the men in yellow? Of course, after the IPL, it seems like it was the best strategy ever employed in the history of modern cricket. But, the truth of the matter is that CSK got lucky. Extremely lucky.
"Lucky" has been a term used largely, and often loosely, to belittle the success of people who are better than the accuser. As someone who has no connection whatsoever to the Sunrisers franchise, I can fully say that it is not my intention.
Why then is this raining on the parade necessary? Because that is how teams get better. Teams do not get better by ignoring the obvious facts in front of them and clinging on to their moment of glory. Teams get successful by getting rid of dead wood and replacing them with younger and better players, even if things are going well.
The average age of the team that played in the finals is 30.36, which in itself was drastically reduced by the 22-year-old Lungi Ngidi. MS Dhoni, the backbone of CSK's team will be 37 next year. Shane Watson, the centurion in the final, will be 37 next year.
Dwayne Bravo, surprisingly still their death overs specialist, will be 35 and has already lost most of his bowling ability. To put it bluntly, CSK are a team that are on the verge of disaster if they do not see past their blatant vulnerabilities.
When asked about this, CSK's coach, Stephen Flemming said:
"They're 35-36, not 55-56. A massive amount has been made of it," Fleming said in a press conference on Wednesday (April 24). "I'm not here to develop young players, I'm here to try and win the competition for the franchise. And that's why we value experience, because we think that gives us the best chance," he added.
To be fair to him, Flemming has lived up to his promise.
The competition has been won with the 35-36-year-olds at his disposal. But, will it be possible to repeat it next year? It could be, but a betting man will know that is not where he should hedge his money.
The problems of failure are easy to recognize - "Glenn Maxwell under-performed"; "We paid too much money for Unadkat"; "Why did we buy D'Arcy Short again?"; "Just keep Pollard in the squad"; "Maybe Ashwin should come in at No.3".
The problems of success are harder. For one, nobody likes to acknowledge them. Nobody wants to fix things that aren't broken. Nobody wants to point at the cracks developing on the walls and be the spoil-sport.
For years, CSK has solely relied on its batting and let their bowlers have their way. It has been done and can be done in the future as well. But, time cannot be compensated as easily as a few leaky overs.
Before the next IPL season rolls out, CSK's management have a huge decision to make - to persist with performance or to go ahead with probability? To stick with experience or to trust in the new?
Both choices bring with them their just share of pros and cons. It would be painful to let go of few players, and then watch them perform at the same level next season at another club. It would be disastrous if the scouted youngsters fall below expectations.
It would also be painful to stick to your guns, and then see logic getting the better of you.
I do not presume to know more about cricket than the men currently heading their project. For all we know, I could be made to eat my words at the end of next season when Watson and Bravo win yet another IPL trophy for Chennai.
In that case, I will be the happiest.