Mumbai Indians (MI) suffered their fifth loss of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on April 22 in Jaipur. Since the start of the tournament, the MI franchise has been under scrutiny from experts and former cricketers regarding their approach under their new captain Hardik Pandya. Last year, Hardik replaced Rohit Sharma as the skipper, under whom the franchise won five titles.
Speaking on this matter, former Indian batter Ambati Rayudu, who has also played for both MI and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), explained the difference between the franchises in terms of their 'team environment'.
"CSK focuses more on the process. They do not analyze results much. Their (CSK) 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, win is a must at all cost (jeetna hi hai). Winning is non-negotiable," Rayudu said on Star Sports.
"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. You can play for longer years there. But if you play for more time at MI, your brain will explode (MI me zyada khelenge to brain fatt jayega)," he added.
Rayudu cites big difference between MI and CSK
The former MI and CSK star further discussed the grooming of players in both teams and praised the CSK franchise for bringing out the best in the players. Rayudu joined CSK in 2018 and became a pivotal member of the squad. With the CSK franchise, he won three titles in 2018, 2021, and 2023. Before this, Rayudu was part of the MI team from 2010 to 2017.
"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 and CSK has an environment where you are made better and that too steadily (aapko better bana diya jata hai, wo bhi aaram se)," Rayudu opined.
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