New Delhi, April 6 Chennai Super Kings team management must work on keeping a "disheartened" dressing room in good spirits to reverse their losing streak this IPL season, according to Indian spin legend R Ashwin.
CSK suffered a crushing 43-run defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday, remaining at the bottom of the points table with three consecutive losses. Speaking on JioHotstar, Ashwin and former South African captain Faf du Plessis analyzed CSK's problems.
"I am sure the dressing room atmosphere will be affected. I am not sure how intense the pressure can be, but honestly, with such a young team, there is only one way to go, and that is upwards.
"The way to go upwards is to establish a strong work ethic and a positive team environment. I am sure it will be extremely demoralizing for the Chennai dressing room after this heavy defeat against RCB," Ashwin said.
The former India spinner said it is unfair to expect accountability from inexperienced players.
"It is very difficult to put CSK's defeat against RCB into words. The RCB-CSK match is supposed to be one of the most celebrated clashes in the IPL.
"There are some issues within the squad, but there are a lot of inexperienced players in the lineup. We cannot really demand accountability from them. They are at an age where they need to enjoy their cricket. You cannot force them to chase the legacy that is expected from a franchise of CSK's caliber."
Choosing to bowl first after winning the toss, CSK faced a relentless Tim David, who smashed a 70 off 25 balls to help RCB reach 250/3.
Du Plessis backed India's T20 World Cup hero, Sanju Samson, to bounce back after failing in the first three matches.
"If you look closely at the CSK batting lineup, you'll see that the quality is there. So, we can back that quality. We can back Ruturaj Gaikwad, the captain. He has proven it time and again. Sanju Samson is a class player who proved his doubters wrong in the T20 World Cup.
"And then you have a talented young player in Ayush Mhatre, who has been exceptional so far in his short IPL career. So, you have the talent in the top three. It's just a matter of letting them perform.
"It's not possible for Sanju Samson to score runs effortlessly in the T20 World Cup and then fail multiple times in the IPL. He is too good a player to fail repeatedly. You just have to believe in him and give him time," Du Plessis said.
Asked how the consecutive defeats would test Ruturaj Gaikwad as a leader, the South African said this challenging phase would help him evolve in captaincy.
"It is not easy for a young captain to suffer back-to-back defeats. Not performing yourself makes things even more difficult as a player. What he will experience right now is the pressure.
"Every good captain has to go through this in their career. They have to develop a thick skin. You have to understand that this could potentially make him a better leader. He has a good head on his shoulders. He has a great support staff around him. He has a great leader in MS Dhoni, who will soon be back in the team.
"So, all the things are there to help him. This will make him a stronger captain."