Former Indian speedster Ashish Nehra has joined the bandwagon comparing the success and failures of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises – Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Both CSK and RCB have a huge fan-following, but it is the yellow brigade who have a better record in IPL when compared to the red and blacks.
CSK is the most consistent team in the IPL having qualified in the playoffs in all season. Further, they have three IPL titles to their name along with a couple of Champions League titles.
Meanwhile, RCB is still in search of their maiden IPL title, having qualified for the finals on only two occasions since the inception of the tournament.
Having served CSK and four other franchises, Nehra spilt beans regarding their mantra of success.
“The team atmosphere at CSK is unique. That’s why the team hasn’t just been successful but extremely consistent,” told Aakash Chopra during a recent chat.
“The reason for the consistency is India Cements. They have been running cricket in south India for so many years, so they know the game. On top of it, they got a captain like MS Dhoni,” added the 41-year old.
“The CSK management supports MS Dhoni completely. The problem is that management in some franchises think they know the game better that then players and coaches. MS Dhoni never had to face that. Thus, if there’s no interference and you are able to keep the same team for 2-3 years, the results do come,” Nehra justified.
Even after the team was dismantled due to the two-year ban in 2015, their auction strategy resulted in CSK retaining their core members.
However, for RCB, Nehra cited that frequent changes in personnel led to their downfall over the years. Nehra was appointed as a bowling coach for RCB for a brief period.
“RCB has always had a strong team but still they have struggled. The management changed three years ago and it has now changed again. I feel the management there has a long way to go when it comes to cricket. But in India, everyone has an opinion on cricket and they have it too,” said Nehra.
While making a comparison between the two franchises, Nehra used phrases such as ‘chalk and cheese’.
“But the business from which they have come and what cricket is there’s a difference of chalk and cheese. Hopefully, they understand it sooner or later,” concluded Nehra.
