Shane Watson finally came good for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2019 and the Australian was grateful to both coach Stephen Fleming and MS Dhoni after his knock of 96 that saw them beat the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday (April 23).
“I can’t thank Stephen Fleming and MS Dhoni enough for their belief in me. Most of the teams I’ve played in, I would have been dropped by now but they showed the trust in me,” Watson said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Watson admitted he was relieved to finally get his lean run of form out of the way and also said that getting a little bit of luck early in his innings did help.
“I was due for runs, that’s for sure. I was doing alright in the PSL and in the BBL too, striking the ball well during those tournaments. But I needed some things to go my way, like it did today when Bhuvi was all over me.”
MS Dhoni said that team management wanted to give Watson as long a rope as possible but did admit that CSK’s winning streak also helped in that regard.
“Watson has been a match-winner for us. He has been batting well in the nets. Whatever small innings he played so far, he was middling them well although he did struggle a bit.
“This is the time when you need to back them. The management’s thinking was to give him as many games as possible. The team winning also means that a player gets more games than he would actually get.”
