Ambati Rayudu weighed in on the difference in team cultures of Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, explaining how at MI, everything boils down to winning.
Ambati Rayudu has revealed the difference between the operation and management of two of IPL’s most popular franchises – Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. Rayudu, one of the select few cricketers to have represented both teams, weighed in on how the player growth and monitoring is poles apart at MI and CSK, highlighting how Chennai are more process-based, and Mumbai result-oriented.
Mumbai Indians are five-time IPL champions, clearly demonstrating the ‘win-at-all-cost’ mentality. (PTI)
CSK and MI have both won the IPL five times each, making them the joint-most successful franchise in the history of the Indian Premier League. The CSK-MI swap has witnessed several renowned names jump ships such as Dwayne Bravo, Harbhajan Singh and Rayudu himself to name a few. The traditional rivalry, known as the El Clasico of the IPL has dished out some memorable matches, including the IPL 2010, 2013 and 2015 finals. But while the success rate of both these teams are second to none, the way to go about it couldn’t be further.
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“CSK focuses more on the process. They do not analyse results much. Their mood and mood swings are not because of the results. MI is a bit different. MI mostly want to win and their culture is like everything depends on winning. They have a culture of, jeetna hi hai (Win is a must). Winning is non-negotiable,” Rayudu said on Star Sports.
Rayudu began his IPL career with MI back in 2010 and remained part of the franchise till 2017, becoming a three-time winner with them. In 2018, Rayudu switched to CSK and set the season on fire, scoring 602 runs in his maiden year with the franchise. So impressive was Rayudu that his season with CSK opened the doors for his India comeback, as he went about becoming their No. 4. However, despite being invested in for the major part of the last 10 months, Rayudu was dropped from India’s 2019 World Cup squad.
More differences
This led to a series of unexpected moves. Rayudu announced his retirement, only to take it back shortly after. But even though his India career was going through highs and lows, Rayudu’s love for CSK was constant. In an interview carried out by IPL earlier this year, Rayudu had shed light on how at MI, everything boils down to winning, something he dwelled on here again. However, this time around, he took it to another extent, explaining how spending too much time with them can lead to a ‘brain explosion’ – metaphorically of course – and compared it to the calmness of CSK.
“Both CSK and MI have two different cultures but at the end of the day, both work hard. I feel CSK has a much better environment. Your brain will explode if you will spend more time at MI, he said. When I used to play for MI, my game improved a lot. If you had not won the match, they do not see an excuse. At the end of the day, you have to perform. MI has an environment where you keep getting better. At CSK you are made better and that too without any hassle,” added Rayudu.
