Suresh Raina Pinpoints Reason Behind CSK's Poor Display in IPL 2025, Hails MS Dhoni For Carrying Entire Team On His Shoulders

IPL 2025: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) conceded a disappointing five-wicket defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the 43rd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, on Friday, April 25th.

The Super Kings hold the bottom-most place on the IPL 2025 standings with four points and have a net run rate of -1.302. CSK have conceded seven defeats and clinched just two wins as of now. The MS Dhoni-led side have been performing poorly in the ongoing season. In their previous five matches, CSK won just one game and suffered four defeats.

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MS Dhoni Still Giving Everything: Suresh Raina

While speaking on Star Sports, former cricketer Suresh Raina blamed CSK's auction policy for their poor performance in the ongoing season. He heaped praise on MS Dhoni for giving everything for the franchise at the age of 43-year-old.

"The core group handles the auction - you can imagine, Dhoni can’t have this type of auction. He would maybe name four or five players he wants, and out of them, a few would be retained. Even if an uncapped player is working hard, look at MS Dhoni-—being a 43-year-old captain, still giving everything," Raina said on Star Sports.

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The former cricketer added that only MS Dhoni has been carrying the franchise on his shoulders. He also questioned other CSK players' performance in the 2025 edition.

"He's playing just for the brand, for his name, for the fandom - and still putting in the effort. At 43, he's doing wicketkeeping, captaining, carrying the entire team on his shoulders. But what are the other ten players doing?," he added.

MS Dhoni's Numbers In IPL 2025

MS Dhoni has played nine matches, scoring 140 runs in the ongoing IPL 2025 edition with a strike rate of 142.86 and has an average of 28.00. He has played 273 IPL matches and scored 5383 runs at a strike rate of 137.67 and has an average of 38.73. 

Chennai Super Kings will square off against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their upcoming match of the season on Wednesday, April 30th.