Over the Wicket Chennai Super Kings will bounce back, reckons Michael Hussey

Michael Hussey’s vast knowledge of the game and his overall attitude earned him the moniker, Mr Cricket. Hussey was 29 when he made his international debut and yet he went on to become one of the greatest cricketers of this century.

Australian cricket hasn’t seen a better finisher than Hussey after the retirement of a certain Michael Bevan. While Bevan’s impact was limited to ODIs, Hussey was an allformat giant whose numbers were incredible — 6235 from 79 Tests at 51.52 with 19 hundreds and 5442 runs from 185 ODIs at 48.15 with three hundreds and a highly impressive strike rate of 87.16. And he was equally brilliant in the T20Is with 721 runs from 38 matches at 37.94 and a strike rate of 136.29.

An IPL legend, Hussey, the current Chennai Super Kings batting coach, had won back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011 as a player with the CSK.

The Western Australian was a truly versatile batsman. But more than anything else, it was his selflessness as a player that made him one of the most revered figures in cricket.

Recently I had the honour of meeting Mr Cricket after he was out of the bubble. My first question to him was on the bio-bubble. How did the players adjust to the new normal for 70 days?

To which he responded that though it was a very challenging time for every member of the franchise, the management and the support staff ensured that everyone followed the protocols.

I couldn’t hold myself back and asked what went wrong with one of the most consistent teams in the IPL. Hussey said that the Super Kings didn’t start the season well like they always do, referring to their two victories in the first half of the tournament. Secondly, he said they missed playing at Chepauk, having meticulously built the squad to suit the conditions at the famous stadium in Chennai.

Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh’s absence also hampered their chances, the former left-handed batsman said. Skipper MS Dhoni, who has been always instrumental in CSK winning many matches on his own, was also not at his best throughout the tournament.

But Hussey revealed how CSK became one of the best IPL teams in history. The team management, according to the Aussie, makes sure that all the players are closely bonded irrespective of the result.

The culture in the CSK franchise is like a family that is for everyone in good and bad times.

Despite the poor display this year, Hussey sounded confident that the team would bounce back next year and also stated that he would remain with the franchise.