'They have a culture of jeetna hi hai' - Ambati Rayudu delves into contrasting philosophies at CSK and MI

With an experience of 204 games under his belt, there are only a select few who have had the level of exposure in the IPL, with not one, but two franchises. Ambati Rayudu has been a part of the Mumbai Indians from 2010 to 2017, post which he was acquired by the Chennai Super Kings from 2018 to 2023, in which he played 114 and 90 matches for the former and latter, respectively. Notably, he's the only player other than Rohit Sharma to have won six IPL titles as a player.

While speaking on Star Sports, Rayudu probed into the environments of both camps, going into detail on how they approach players' performances as well as fixtures.

Starting off with talking about CSK, Rayudu remarked the emphasis of the management and culture at CSK to be more on the step-by-step process rather than scrutinizing results too much, mentioning that their demeanor and fluctuations were not triggered or influenced by results.

"If we have to talk about culture, CSK focuses more on the process. They do not analyse the results much. Their mood and mood swings are not because of the results," Rayudu said on Star Sports.

Transitioning to the topic of MI, Rayudu noted that the team had a relentless pursuit of victory, fostering a robust culture where success was the norm and anything less than a win was deemed unacceptable.

"MI is a bit different. MI mostly wants to win, and their culture is like everything depends on winning. They have a culture of jeetna hi hai (win is a must). Winning is non-negotiable," expressed Rayudu.

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Further, Rayudu admitted that while both had contrasting environments and both toiled equally hard, he personally felt that the ethos at CSK was much more conducive for him and that a player could survive longer there. He proceeded with opining that any player's mind would go into chaotic turmoil due to the intensified accentuation on winning if they play for a long-enough time for MI.

"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 there longer. If you play in MI for a long time, toh brain fatt jayega (your brain will explode)," noted Rayudu.

It's Rohit's call: Rayudu on which franchise Rohit would want to shift to post IPL 2024

Commenting on where he felt ex-MI skipper Rohit Sharma would head to after the culmination of the ongoing edition after being ignominiously displaced as the MI captain, Rayudu felt Rohit would decide for himself, and would ultimately land up wherever his heart and mind relays to him, concluding that he'd eventually move to a franchise which handles him better than what he had to undergo at MI.

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"It is Rohit's call at the end of the day. Wherever he would want to go, he will go. All the teams will love to have him and have him as a captain. It's Rohit's call. I am sure he will go to franchise which treats him better than what has happened here," concluded Rayudu.