Suresh Raina expressed concern over Chennai Super Kings’ poor performance this IPL season, noting they are at the bottom of the points table with six losses out of eight matches. Suresh Raina criticised the management’s decisions during the auction, highlighting the lack of effective young and senior players.
The way CSK performed against MI raises questions about the dynamics of the side. The batters failed to make an impact early in the innings. The likes of Shivam Dube & Ravindra Jadeja took too much time before unleashing attack as a target of 177 runs was not threatening that much. CSK’s next clash is against SRH on 25th April at Chennai, fans would be optimistic that there’s still some fuel left in the tank of CSK to make a comeback.
CSK’s iconic history of IPL
In the year 2023, the Men in Yellow clinched their fifth IPL title by defeating the Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans with a five-wicket victory, thereby equalling the record held by Mumbai Indians for the most league triumphs. Under MS Dhoni’s guidance, CSK appeared in 10 IPL finals out of the 16 editions thus far, securing the title on five memorable occasions – in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, and 2023. However in 2024 , RCB pipped CSK to enter into the Eliminators.
Five-time champions Chennai Super Kings have one of the most formidable squads heading into IPL 2025. Ruturaj Gaikwad & co. have maintained the reputation of retaining players & buying back their former stars, keeping the loyalty factor intact.
From the likes of run-machines like Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi to a power-packed all-rounder unit that comprises of 11 stars to a spin unit that can terrorize any opposition, CSK boasts of a strong squad, at least on paper. But like any other side, they too have their strengths and weaknesses.
Chennai Super Kings at the mega Auction 2025
Ahead of the mega auction, CSK retained its core, including Ruturaj Gaikwad, Matheesha Pathirana, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, and the legendary MS Dhoni. The auction saw CSK adding 20 players to complete their squad, with the return of Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, and Ravichandran Ashwin grabbing headlines.
The 25-member squad appears balanced overall, but there are questions regarding the depth of the pace-bowling unit, especially considering the available options at the auction. In IPL 2024, CSK finished fifth under the leadership of Ruturaj Gaikwad, narrowly missing the playoffs due to an inferior net run rate despite securing 14 points. This season presents another opportunity for Ruturaj to grow as a leader and guide CSK to greater heights.
The auction has not gone well this year- Suresh Raina
CSK’s batting unit has led them down big time this season as the franchise has found it hard to get going in the powerplay and also post big totals and chase down scores this season. They have not been able to chase down a 180+ target in the league since 2018 and are one of the slowest scoring sides in IPL 2025.
Former all-rounder Suresh Raina, who spent the majority of his time in IPL with CSK, feels that the franchise did not do well at the mega auction last year. He questioned the franchise for leaving some ‘talented players’ that were on offer in the auction arena.
“I think, from the coach and the management, the auction has not gone well this year,” Raina said on Star Sports.
“There were so many youngsters, talented players in the auction, like Priyansh (Arya) who scored a 100 the other day. Even among the more senior players, you left Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul,” he stated.
Suresh Raina added that he has never seen the Super Kings struggle this much.
“When you see the other teams play, they are attacking so much. (In front of them,) I have never seen a CSK team struggle like this,” Suresh Raina added.
CSK has hardly fielded youngsters in the past few seasons, including this one. Shaik Rasheed and Ayush Mhatre have now been given opportunities, while they also have a sitting Vansh Bedi. CSK has not invested in youngsters much and went with fringe players Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, and Deepak Hooda, all of which raised questions on the franchise’s thinking. CSK, who are languishing at the bottom of the IPL points table, have lost six out of the eight matches so far.