What’s Wrong With the Chennai Super Kings?
Where does the joint-most successful franchise in the IPL go from here?
Since its inception in 2008, the Indian Premier League has provided cricket fans around the world with exciting and fast-paced cricket. Introduced as a means to promote the quickly rising 20–20 format, the IPL consisted of eight teams for the first 14 seasons.
In 2022, two additional franchises were introduced. The competitiveness of the league increased as a result. Across the 19 seasons that have been played, cricket fans have seen memorable centuries, nail-biting title wins, and absolute dominance from certain teams.
Some of the greatest players in the history of the sport became household names due to their exploits in the IPL, whilst others gained the chance to represent their country due to their outstanding performances. Though the league has had its fair share of controversies over the years, there is no denying that the entire cricketing world tunes in to watch the IPL every year.
Fifteen different franchises have been featured in 19 seasons of the IPL, with five teams now defunct. Of these 15, eight have managed to win the IPL trophy, some on multiple occasions. Leading the pack are two franchises that are the definition of success in this competition — the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Mumbai Indians (MI). Both have won a record five titles each and share possibly the most passionate rivalry in the entire league.
Despite being suspended from the IPL for the 2016 and 2017 seasons due to betting allegations against the owners. CSK has qualified for the playoffs in 12-of-17 seasons, including reaching a record 10 finals.
After returning to the IPL from its two-year suspension, CSK won three IPL titles in 2018, 2021, and 2023. The latter came after a game disrupted by rain and a dramatic finish, where CSK won the title on the very last ball of the innings.
Since that title, however, the franchise has failed to qualify for the playoffs the following three seasons. For a franchise labelled by many as the most successful in the IPL, this is a major fall-off.
This streak has raised major questions about the management, coaching staff, and players regarding their abilities and strategies. Let's look at some reasons why CSK has fallen behind in recent years.
1. Failure to adapt to the league’s evolution
In the ongoing 2026 IPL season, the Chennai Super Kings achieved a feat they had not done since 2018. For eight straight seasons, they had not chased a target above 180 runs.
Despite this, they managed to win two titles in that period. Historically, CSK ranks third for the most number of 200+ totals in the IPL, only behind the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS). This further goes to show that CSK wins games differently from other teams.
However, in recent years, the league has evolved to a stage where totals of 220–230 runs can be chased by teams with solid depth in batting. CSK’s inability to consistently set targets over 200 has cost them matches that they were supposed to win. The lack of batting depth in the last few years has left them behind other franchises that are confidently able to set targets above 210 and 220.
2. Lack of intent in the player auction
CSK have purchased a total of 33 players in the last three IPL auctions. Only a handful of these players have managed to make significant contributions, while the rest have not been retained after just one season.
Owing to a limited auction purse after retaining several players, CSK was unable to pursue major names who went for high prices. While this may have proved beneficial for other teams, CSK was at fault for making poor decisions with underwhelming signings.
Those included the likes of Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar, and Ravichandran Ashwin, among others. This lack of intent in the auctions created dents in the team’s depth on both batting and bowling fronts.
3. Poor foreign player recruitment
The previous point sets up perfectly for this next point. CSK has a rich history with foreign players, with the likes of Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Albie Morkel, Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith, and Shane Watson among others having represented the franchise. In the last three auctions, the team has added the following foreign players: Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Mustafizur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Sam Curran, Nathan Ellis, Jamie Overton, Matt Henry, Akeal Hosein, Zak Foulkes, and Matthew Short.
Of these 11 players, only three have made significant contributions to the team, albeit not enough for playoff qualification. Those three are Ahmad, Overton, and Hosein, all of whom are in the current squad.
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As for the others, few are currently active but have received limited playing time, and the rest have since been released. In a league where the right combination of foreign players is essential for every franchise, CSK has done a mediocre job in the last three auctions on this front.
4. Coach fatigue?
Ex-New Zealand international Stephen Fleming currently holds the record for the longest-serving coach in the history of the IPL, having led the Chennai Super Kings since 2009. Under his stewardship, the franchise has reached 10 IPL finals and won five titles.
However, at times during the last three seasons, Fleming has looked exhausted. The team has looked like they have run out of ideas, and are struggling to keep up the pace with other teams in the league.
Though he is undoubtedly a legend of the franchise, the time might have come for CSK to move on from Fleming and hire a fresh face. Sometimes, a change of scenery can do wonders in any scenario.
5. The captaincy conundrum
After winning a fifth IPL title in 2023, Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped down as captain and handed the captaincy to opening batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of the 2024 season.
This was the second time Dhoni had stepped down as captain, but he would once again fill the role in 2025, after Gaikwad suffered an injury after five games. Barring this, Gaikwad’s tenure as CSK captain has been questionable. In the 33 matches that he has captained the team, the team has won 14 games and lost 19.
His batting performances and on-field decisions have looked mediocre at times, seemingly due to the pressure of living up to the standards set by Dhoni as captain.
Whether the management persists with Gaikwad or seeks another option ahead of next season remains to be seen, but the jury is still out on Gaikwad’s performance as CSK captain. Three years without playoff cricket should certainly raise doubts.
6. Inconsistent players
In the last three years, the players who have represented CSK have failed to live up to the consistency exhibited by the likes of MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, Ravindra Jadeja, and Dwayne Bravo.
After a solid start in 2021, Ruturaj Gaikwad looks to have dipped in form in the last few seasons. The rest of the squad, including players like Shivam Dube, Dewald Brevis, Anshul Kamboj, and Khaleel Ahmed, have only occasionally turned up when needed.
On the batting front, the team has tended to collapse after the loss of a few wickets and has struggled to hit boundaries, severely impacting their performances.
Meanwhile, on the bowling front, the team has proven to be vulnerable against teams with a rich depth of batting. It remains to be seen whether many of the players on the current squad will be retained for next season, but the alarming levels of inconsistency need to be addressed by the management.
7. The Dhoni dilemma
We have reached the last point, and perhaps the most debated one. MS Dhoni is one of the most iconic players in IPL history, having led CSK to five IPL titles and 10 finals.
His extraordinary batting, captaincy, and wicketkeeping skills have created an entire generation of CSK fans, and his longevity into his late 30s and early 40s has made for an inspirational tale.
After his batting performances had declined in 2024, the CSK fanbase was divided into two sections: those who believed Dhoni should have retired, and those who wanted him to continue.
After yet another disappointing season in 2025, it was announced that Dhoni would return for the current season. However, he suffered an injury before the start of the season, which ruled him out for the entirety of the league phase.
After winning just six games, CSK have once again been eliminated in the group stage of the IPL this season. At this stage, a majority of the fanbase believes that the time has come for the legendary former captain to retire.
Currently at 44, Dhoni’s skills have visibly and understandably declined to a point where he has almost become a liability to the team. Dhoni once stated that he wished to play his last game at CSK’s home stadium in Chennai, but it seems that the time has come for the team to move past him and fully focus on the future. It is a hard decision to make, but one that needs to be made.
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