Where to start? And where to end? The two questions that keep echoing in the mind while penning down a copy on Chennai Super Kings’ abysmal performance in the 2025 Indian Premier League. In other words, there is plenty of information to dissect while analysing CSK’s lacklusture show so far.
The starting point still has to be the mega auction held on November 24 and November 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The CSK think-tank made some questionable picks that are still hurting them. Three of CSK’s picks – Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar and Deepak Hooda – were all expected to shore up the batting unit at different slots.
Among the lot, Hooda has a downright poor record in the IPL. After partaking in as many as 121 IPL matches, he averages a mere 17.73 and at a strike rate of 128.11. Yes, you have heard it right – A batter supposed to slot in the top six of the line-up averages under 20. Even if you look at the top run-getter’s list for the 2024-25 Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy, Hooda’s name is nowhere to be seen in the top 50 best batters of the season. In that tournament, he aggregated 178 runs with a solitary fifty. The focal point to discuss is despite featuring in multiple IPLs, he hasn’t branched out his game through the off-side.
There was a time when Tripathi’s batting exploits were known as value for money. But at 34, he isn’t getting any younger. In the 2025 IPL, Tripathi has aggregated a mere 46 runs at an average of 11.5 and at a strike rate under 100. If anything, Tripathi did worse than Hooda in the recent SMAT season, compiling 123 runs at 20.5. Meanwhile, with his long levers, Shankar can pack a punch but his stats in the IPL won’t exactly give sleepless nights to his opponents – 1224 runs at an average of 26.61.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that their top run-getter – Rachin Ravindra – is placed a lowly 15th in the batting charts. He and Devon Conway, the two openers, aren’t known for providing quick-fire starts at the top of the order. For example, in the recent PBKS-CSK game, the Chennai side was 59 for no loss in the Powerplay while looking to chase down 220. In batting-friendly conditions, not the kind of start that would charge the engine.
Incidentally, CSK have two of the worst three performances in the Powerplay this season – 30 for 3 and 31 for 2. Even more astonishingly, CSK haven’t successfully hunted down a 180-plus target since May 2018.
One more criticism levelled against CSK is that they don’t try out youngsters even when the team is going through a downward slide. Shaik Rasheed has been a part of the set-up since IPL 2023, but he is yet to play a game for them. Vansh Bedi has gained some reputation for landing meaty blows through the on-side in lower leagues, but it is fair to say that he too will have to wait for his opportunity. The same is the case with the other CSK recruits like Andre Siddarth and Ramakrishna Ghosh.
Enough and more has been said about MS Dhoni not being at his best. But another 40-something, Sunil Chhetri, has quiet led his beloved Bengaluru FC to the ISL final. So, how much of a factor is age really?@chetrisunil11 #ISLFinal
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— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) April 12, 2025
To add to their woes, Ruturaj Gaikwad, one of the mainstays of the line-up, also has had an underwhelming season and is currently out injured with an elbow problem. MS Dhoni, the man synonymous with CSK, may still effect jaw-dropping stumpings, but at 43, his batting prowess are definitely on the wane. The CSK fulcrum has also batted as low as number 9 in a few of the games.
Compared to their debilitating problems in the batting unit, the bowling department at least has a couple of silver linings. Noor Ahmed and Khaleel Ahmed slot in at the first and fifth place in the race for the Purple Cap, with 12 and 10 wickets respectively. Unfortunately for CSK, the likes of R Jadeja, R Ashwin and Matheesha Pathirana haven’t really backed up the duo’s efforts.
If you delve deeper, outside of Khaleel, CSK also have issues when it comes to PowerPlay overs. It is true that Anshul Kamboj is quite good at making the batter play upfront, but he has partaken in a mere four IPL matches.
Their latest defeat against KKR has ensured that CSK are rooted to a lowly ninth position on the points table. When Dhoni took over the leadership duties from the injured Gaikwad, there was a lot of fanfare surrounding the appointment. However, in the eventual analysis, a captain is only as good as the team. Going forward, will CSK’s poor showing force the management to bring about changes to their template is anyone’s guess. Logic says that this is CSK’s seminal moment where they have to build a structure on a new foundation stone.
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