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.
Ambati 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. Rayudu was an integral part of both MI & CSK in their triumphs as he had the knack of playing attacking as well as waiting game for the team.
Ambati Rayudu’s IPL career with MI and CSK
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 Ambati 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.
Ambati 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, Ambati Rayudu switched to CSK and set the season on fire, scoring 602 runs in his maiden year with the franchise.
So impressive was Ambati 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, Ambati Rayudu was dropped from India’s 2019 World Cup squad.
This led to a series of unexpected moves. Ambati Rayudu announced his retirement, only to take it back shortly after. But even though his India career was going through highs and lows, Ambati Rayudu’s love for CSK was constant. In an interview carried out by IPL earlier this year, Ambati 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. Also Ambati Rayudu explained how the MI team lacked unity in the 2024 IPL under Hardik Pandya to finish amongst bottom of the table.
I feel there are too many individual powerhouses in the side- Ambati Rayudu
Former Mumbai Indians (MI) cricketer Ambati Rayudu reckons the five-time IPL champions didn’t play like a team in IPL 2024 and that’s perhaps one of the main reasons why they had a disastrous season. MI are currently ninth in the points table with just four wins from 13 games.
Rayudu won three titles with Mumbai Indians and claimed that during his time, the culture in the dressing room always focused on the team being above the individual. While he didn’t take any names, the former cricketer feels the current MI team has some individuals who have put their interests ahead of the team.
Speaking on Star Sports Press Room, here’s what Ambati Rayudu had to say about MI:
“I feel Mumbai has always been a setup where the team has always come first. The individuals were part of a team and the owners, players and even Sachin Paaji used to feel that we are all part of one Mumbai Indians team. But right now I feel there are too many individual powerhouses in the side and not just one sort of direction to take,”
Rayudu claimed that the passion from the Mumbai players to play for the badge is something he found lacking in IPL 2024.
Ambati Rayudu on outside noise affecting MI’s performance in IPL 2024
The transition of captaincy from Rohit Sharma to Hardik Pandya has been anything but smooth as the fans have heavily scrutinized the MI management’s decision. Ambati Rayudu felt that the added rumors in the media about divided camps in the dressing room certainly made things more complicated for MI.
Claiming that Mumbai need to let some players go if they don’t align with their goals, Ambati Rayudu stated:
“This season right from the start we have seen everyone talk about everything else rather than Mumbai Indians as a team. If there is someone who is not willing to come on board, no matter how tough it is, you have to get rid of them and get players who want to play for the team. I am sure they would want to build a side where everyone wants to play for Mumbai Indians than their own self,”
MI just have one game remaining in their season, against the Lucknow Super Giants on May 17. They can play spoilsport as if they beat Lucknow, the latter would probably get knocked out of the playoffs because of their poor net run rate.