Dubai: Dwayne Bravo said as it should be said, “Experience beats youth any day”.
The West Indies all-rounder once again played his part to perfection in Chennai Super King’s fourth Indian Premier League title triumph and summed up the journey of his side which his teammate Moeen Ali termed “humble and grounded”.
Deepak Chahar, on his part, said the love and loyalty for skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni made the players push the envelope a little harder.
“It’s about the belief in the squad from management, owners. After last season, I was really disappointed. We owed it to the franchise, the fans to come up with a better performance. I don’t get nervous (coming into a final),” Bravo said after the match.
“I have had good performance in different phases of the tournament. Faf and Ruturaj were standout (performers) for us. To have these two guys scoring over 500 runs together. Experience beats youth any day,” he said.
England all-rounder Moeen expressed his gratitude when he wasn’t dropped after a few indifferent games.
“I can’t describe how I’m feeling. To do it with this franchise is great. I could’ve been dropped a couple of games ago. It’s such a grounded and humble team,” said Moeen.
Ravindra Jadeja, on his part, said: “That catch of Venkatesh Iyer changed it for us. Mr DJ Bravo is going to entertain us all night. It’s time for him to change his name from ‘Champion’ to ‘Sir Champion’.”
Robin Uthappa, who joined the party late, also spoke about how CSK made players feel secure.
“I’ve voiced over and over again that in this team, there’s secure atmosphere, lot of communication between players and support staff. I believe its the players who aren’t playing in the XI that make the atmosphere within the group.”
Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood credited Bravo for getting into the T20 bowling groove.
“It’s fantastic. Full credit to the guys, who have been on top. It’s exciting. We’ve got a such a senior team, and having DJ (Bravo) has been really helpful.
“A bit of downtime, and I’m straight for the World Cup. Perfect preparation really, and I am looking forward to it.”