'Honestly, we did not play to our expectations' - CSK openers admit mistakes after poor IPL 2022 campaign

Chennai Super Kings openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway were quite honest about their opinions over how the season panned out and they did not shy away from stating about their dismal performance. One of the major points of CSK’s downfall this year was the lack of opening partnerships at the start of the tournament as Gaikwad could manage just 368 runs in 14 games at an average of 26.28.

Robin Uthappa opened the innings in Conway’s absence for the majority of the first half of the season, and the former scored just 230 runs in the season. Conway arrived late into the mix and he immediately had an impact at the top of the order, however, it was too late for CSK to get their campaign back on track.

CSK have to accept things and move forward: Ruturaj Gaikwad

Ruturaj Gaikwad wasn’t shy to admit that the players failed to play up to the expectations. He, however, was optimistic about coming back strong next year with the support of the huge CSK fan base while his opening partner Conway also noted about the season not going their way. The New Zealander felt that the side failed to perform at their best this year and assured a better response next year.

“Many people would be saying that we did not have luck going our way or we did not have things going our way. I would be very honest and tell them that we did not play to our expectations. But, as I said, we have to accept things and move forward. You (CSK fans) have our backs. We will come out of this year really stronger next year,” told Gaikwad as quoted by News 18.

“We all know it wasn’t quite our year this time. We can accept that and move on. We will bounce back next year. It’s not because of lack of trying or practice, we just didn’t quite play at our best this year. Things will be better next year, for sure,” Conway, told CSK TV.