Shane Watson thanks CSK skipper MS Dhoni, Stephen Fleming for 'keeping faith' during IPL

With several states across the country extending the Coronavirus lockdown period, chances of the IPL commencing from April 15 got even bleaker on Saturday. Amid the uncertainty looming, several cricketers have kept themselves busy by indulging in various activities. Similarly, former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson who plays for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, indulged in an Instagram live session through the franchise's handle on Saturday. 

'Thank you for keeping the faith'

During his Instagram live session, Shane Watson expressed his gratitude to skipper MS Dhoni and Head Coach Stephen Fleming for showing confidence in the Aussie. Watson had played an impeccable innings of 117 runs in the 2018 IPL final guiding the Chennai side to victory. Watson said, "You can go for 10 games not scoring runs and still get picked. Last season, thank you to MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming for keeping the faith."

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He added that every other franchise would have considered such a player to be out of form and 'gone' and made the player sit out or carry drinks. During the 2018 season, Watson had a very poor beginning with a spree of low-scoring games. However, the Aussie all-rounder started firing towards the latter part of the tournament staging a spectacular show in the final game of the tournament against SunRisers Hyderabad.

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"And then when things turned around, which I knew it would at some stage, I thanked MS and Fleming for keeping the faith, and they said there was never any doubt. And that''s phenomenal. That made me feel 10-foot tall. That's the power of amazing leadership. To know when to stick with people you believe in, and that''s amazing for me. And I am forever indebted to those guys," said Watson.  

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IPL in September?

As per reports, the stakeholders are looking at the September-November window later this year to make the IPL 2020 season happen. The organisers are keen on having a go at this plan even if it’s a short season without foreign players. If IPL 2020 indeed takes place without overseas players, there are fears that the tournament may lose its charm.

According to a BCCI official, it would be exactly like another Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy if the foreign cricketers don’t play their trade-in IPL 2020. However, the IPL officials are still optimistic and are hopeful that the presence of top India stars at the IPL 2020 will be enough to attract the fans to the stadiums. 

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