Always super, all the time: the CSK way
We are family: for CSK, players that stay together, play together
© BCCI
Ambati Rayudu and Matthew Hayden talk the philosophy and culture that built the monolith that is Chennai Super Kings
As one of the two most dominant franchises in IPL history, Chennai Super Kings (https://www.espncricinfo.com/team/chennai-super-kings-335974) found success by doing things their way. Matthew Hayden (https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/matthew-hayden-5616) and Ambati Rayudu (https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/ambati-rayudu-33141) , both CSK veterans, sat down during IPL 2025 to unpack the franchise's underpinnings - from MS Dhoni's leadership to the dressing-room culture that underpins the team's longevity.
When I say "the CSK way", what comes to mind first?
Rayudu: What comes to mind is MS Dhoni (https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/ms-dhoni-28081) because he's the one who calls the shots. He's the one guy who has kept everything intact and together along with Flem [Stephen Fleming (https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/stephen-fleming-37000) , head coach] and Kasi [Kasi Viswanathan, CSK CEO] sir. That trio have made CSK, and the culture at CSK, what it is that we all speak about today.
You two played at different times for CSK. Haydos, you were part of the formative years of the IPL and of CSK. Rayudu more recently. Is it fair to say that the identity of the franchise and a lot of its success is still, in the end, down to how Dhoni handled it?
Hayden: That's probably a bit too narrow a focus. MS Dhoni obviously has a legacy as the captain of the team. But before the team even takes the field, there are [a lot of] mechanics that go into Tamil Nadu cricket.
When you look at the lineage between the owner, Srinivasan [N Srinivasan], the chief operating officer, Kasi sir, and how that joined together a very proud region of cricket… And the fact that India Cements is the owner and major partner of the game at TNPL [Tamil Nadu Premier League] level later on, the whole cricket community in general, Tamil Nadu cricket and the associations that come into that, it was a bit of a no-brainer, that the one thing that came to mind was just cricket.
The people of cricket?
Hayden: The community of cricket.
I got to experience that in 1996. That was the first time I went to Chennai. I instantly felt, in spite of being an absolute unknown - by that stage I'd played three or four years of first-class cricket - that there was this great reservoir of energy towards the game in a classic old stadium at Chepauk. With the old traditions of the Madras Cricket Club sitting prominently in the foreground of the oval.
Behind it, whether it was the person closing the gates or the people tending the ground, there was this great connectedness towards the game of cricket.
"In some teams they say, 'You'll have a great day, boss,' but it doesn't come [from the heart]. Here, at Chennai Super Kings, they mean what they're saying"Ambati Rayudu
There is a great history to the Madras Cricket Club and to Chennai, but the IPL was a different beast. It was private ownership, players from all over. What, as a player, were you most taken by when it came to the CSK ownership?
Rayudu: The biggest challenge any owner has is to refrain from interfering with the team, because cricket has to be played like cricket. You can't have your corporate structure getting into the game or managing cricket. It rarely works.
With Chennai, as Haydos was saying, they've been running cricket for 50 years. They've had league teams and manage a lot of local cricket. So they understand cricketers. They understand sportsmen. They understand what a cricketer needs.
That has made CSK that much better, and now a lot of teams are trying to emulate that culture. I feel that is one area where CSK was far ahead of other teams, especially at the start of the IPL.
With India Cements running cricket and knowing cricketers, when you go there as a cricketer, you always feel welcomed, and your family feels welcomed. You are comfortable and the trust they put in you is very different. Other teams give you roles and specialised things to do. Here they make you feel comfortable. They let you explore yourself and get to the best of your potential in your own way. They don't really force much.
Isn't that something other franchises do as well? You've played for Mumbai Indians and we've heard of other franchises that will also give you great support, even outside of IPL windows to families. What makes CSK unique?
Rayudu: MI has been brilliant that way. MI has been grooming a lot of talent, and I was part of that process where we joined MI and learned professionalism in cricket. You got to meet a lot of great cricketers and learn how the game has to be played. There was a lot of learning there.
But with CSK, when we went there, it was more about the trust and belief they put in you.You feel a sense of elevation of self - that they have given me this opportunity and put that trust in me. Their body language never suggests otherwise.
Many times there are only words. In some teams they say, "You'll have a great day, boss", but it doesn't come [from the heart]. Here they mean what they're saying.
Play05:43
'CSK understand sportsmen. They understand what a cricketer needs'
The best part about Dhoni bhai, Flem, and also Kasi sir, is that they know when not to talk. That is the biggest challenge in cricket coaching. A lot of franchises think more information and more input is good. Sometimes knowing when not to talk is the best thing that can happen to a cricketer.
Do you have personal experience of that?
Rayudu: Yes, many times.
When you don't need so much information - when you're recovering from something or you're confused and trying to get clarity - they let things come to you as a person and as a cricketer. They let you explore yourself. It's very different and a great way to play the game.
Did you, Haydos, have a similar experience as Rayudu, or as a seasoned international were your individual interactions with captain, coach and management different?
Hayden: It was a phase for me personally because at that stage we had a young captain in MS Dhoni, [who was just] 26. He had captained his country but was still learning the game and the situation, as we all were. T20 cricket was something of a joke in many ways at that time and there certainly wasn't the maturity of the business model that exists now. We're now seeing franchises valued at close to a billion dollars.
CSK has never been sold, and Mumbai Indians are the same, but recent sales have been just south of a billion dollars. When you get a billion dollars on the table - and I'd argue CSK and Mumbai Indians are worth much more - you get a lot of dynamic relationships.
But in the formative years we had a young captain and an old bull like myself, who had finished international cricket and had one more year to go. What excited me personally was T20 cricket. It wasn't really about the money. For me it was about the love of smashing cricket balls with no restraints whatsoever.
"I had a bloke come up to me - Parthiv Patel, who remembers absolutely everything. He said, you remember you said this and you said that? I said, 'Bro, I don't remember you, let alone anyone else'"Matthew Hayden on coming into the IPL in the early days
Up until that point, though, you had only ever done that with an Australian team. And 2007 was such a significant year - that series down under (https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/india-tour-of-australia-2007-08-291320) , where India-Australia cricket relations were perhaps at their most acrimious (https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/the-aftermath-of-the-sydney-test-329517) .
Hayden: That was just terrible.
When you first thought you were going to be picked up in this thing called the IPL and would be playing at CSK with Dhoni, who was also part of that series, and you were going to be part of that dressing room, what were the emotions like? I can imagine it may not necessarily have been "Hi buddy, how's it going?" from day one. Or was it?
Hayden: It actually was. Although I did [have to face] all the sins of my past. I had a bloke come up to me and say, you said this at that particular game. [It was] Parthiv Patel. It was almost unfair because I was towering over him (laughs). Parthiv remembers absolutely everything. He said, you remember you said this and you said that? I said, "Bro, I don't remember you, let alone anyone else."
You thought that was a way to forge a relationship…
Hayden: Also, why were the relationships bad? That's the other factor. They were bad because Australia was hammering India most of the time.
So you had this very proud Indian cricket culture, an emerging culture that had gone through transition away from your Tendulkars, Sourav Gangulys and Rahul Dravids, and now was in this phase of an MS Dhoni, who was a very unflappable character. The way you upset an Australian is by being unflappable under heat. You could put immense pressure on MS Dhoni and he'd look through you like, what happened?
So there was this quirky dynamic happening as the Indian cricket community rallied behind a new captain with a new approach. And Australia - with its ego, pride and passion to win everything on the planet - was coming head to head [with the new culture].
Thalas for all seasons: MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming have always been CSK's brains trust© PTI
At the time it was more than cricket. There were racial undertones. The Indian team gathered as one to say they had been cheated and targeted (https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/it-is-never-a-pleasant-thing-to-be-called-a-liar-tendulkar-796631) , there was a judicial inquiry, and at that time the feeling was that the Aussies had cheated them. So to then come into that CSK dressing room - did MS Dhoni carry none of that?
Hayden: Zero of it. I remember walking into that dressing room, and in fact, MS and I shared adjoining suites. But it was very smart of the franchise because, in essence, MS and I had to form a bond, being the captain and probably the most senior international player, at the very least. MS and I had a very symbiotic relationship, meaning we often didn't speak about things, but we had a great understanding. It was almost like: You [Hayden] have got the international players. We're a new club, a new franchise - you make sure you look after that. And look after my young boys, domestic boys - Suresh Raina chinna thala, and a young Ravichandran Ashwin, a young Murali Vijay - you look after those guys as well, and I'll do the lifting in terms of our broader management.
I'd like to think that your rooms being adjacent, as the senior player and captain, wasn't just an administrative coincidence. Many times you'll have something on a corporate chart saying team bonding is important, but what it actually takes to get these things going are little things like that. I've heard stories about things CSK did that seemed normal or small but made a big difference to players. Do you have experiences like that?
Rayudu: Yes, I do. Especially in years when we weren't doing well and after a very bad game when the team had not performed at all. There were days where ten people hadn't turned up to the game and we lost badly. We would come into the dressing room and the coach and captain would say, everything's normal, go and have dinner, boys, let's get to the bus in ten minutes.
That is very strange. It would never happen anywhere else. That's the composure they had and their interest in keeping the dressing room normal even on bad days. And very normal even on good days. They don't get too high and they don't get too low. Those things are very unusual and very CSK.
"Stephen Fleming's biggest strength is understanding Indians, especially in the IPL. He understands that Indians are more emotional and take things to heart"Ambati Rayudu
Hayden: I also think that's probably unique to Stephen Fleming.
In the early days we had Kepler Wessels. Wessels is a fighter. That combination didn't work.People in Tamil Nadu… it's too hot, you can't be bothered listening to someone banging on to young players about discipline and routine.
I love him. Remember, he played for the same club in Queensland as Allan Border. Very similar personalities. They butted heads. So I understood that discipline and culture and drive and motivation. But you could see within minutes he was never going to work inside an Indian change room. Simple as that.
When Fleming came along, there was this on-scale respect. For someone like me, Stephen Fleming had never won a Test match against us as a side. So he's got a win percentage against Australia in Tests of zero, of 33% 26.19% in one-day cricket. So there wasn't that immediate, like, what's this guy going to be like? Because we literally had hammered him our entire career.
Is it fair to say he didn't command that respect instantly from contemporaries?
Hayden: I say that to present a different side of the story. Even though he didn't have a great record, what we thought as his opposition was that he had a great plan for his limited team. And so I think that was where that whole respect came in Chennai as well, because I felt that we had a great team.
But he was able, through planning and through gentle manipulation of different personalities, to get the best out of people. He'd give you your head if you're a headstrong person like myself, or if you needed some tender loving care, give you that energy and that vibe. He was also a great conduit between Dhoni, who was a very calm, very planned, strategic captain, and the management, who were also very calm, extremely strategic.
So he was a jack-of-all-trades and he commanded respect, simple as that.
Play04:56
'Stephen Fleming's single greatest strength is understanding Indians, especially in the IPL'
Did that happen instantly? Because Fleming was a player first and then became a replacement player after you had to leave for international duty, and then became coach.
Hayden: And look, T20 wasn't really his game. It didn't fit naturally with Flem. I don't know what his record is but I wouldn't imagine it was that strong. But it was an important strategic coaching position. He just fit the bill and continues to fit the bill, always finding new ways to get the best out of people.
What's his single greatest strength, from your experience?
Rayudu: His biggest strength is understanding Indians, especially in the IPL. He understands that Indians are more emotional and take things to heart.
And you spoke about Kepler Wessels and that example you gave, that kind of treatment wouldn't go well [with India players]. A lot of players would go into their shells. Flem understood that very well.
He also complements how MS Dhoni works. The biggest aspect of his coaching is that he always understood it is the captain's team. MS Dhoni calls the shots. Flem man-manages, supports him and gives advice, but it is Dhoni's team. They work hand in glove and you have to be that way because it is the captain's team. That is [how] the best teams actually work.
And also the management. The biggest thing I feel about the CSK management, right from the logistics guy to the bat-repairer to everybody else, there is not a single negative talk any time. Like if two guys are walking in a corridor, you will never hear opinions, advice, or any negative chat. Nothing at all. They only spread good, positive energy.
There's never been a CSK dressing room where there are factions or groups, or people are unhappy about being dropped or played?
Hayden: Hence why you don't see turnover of staff.
If it were an unhappy environment, you'd go and row in a day. It's just as simple as that. These guys have stayed together for years. They love each other. We talk about fans, the "yellove", but these guys, every day, the day after a game, they go have breakfast together.
"In the first year, I can remember Srini coming in, having a meeting. And he literally said, 'Guys, I may be the owner, but you are what I admire the most. You are doing something that I can't do. Therefore, I respect you'"Matthew Hayden
