Updated April 1st 2025, 13:37 IST
IPL 2025: Keeping the legacy aside, keeping the five titles aside, and keeping the superstardom aside, it is time to address the 'Elephant in the Room', that the Chennai Super Kings are not looking like the same side that they used to be. There are loopholes in their plans, and their intent with the bat is now being questioned. Chennai Super Kings are an invincible side on paper, but in reality, the results are not going in their favor, and they have nobody else to blame for it but themselves.
Chennai Super Kings are having a big issue with MS Dhoni the batter. The franchise might not be saying it out loud enough, but it is clearly affecting the results and the composition of their game. The brutal truth is that their former skipper MS Dhoni is not the same batter that he used to be. The biggest aspect of MS Dhoni's game was how quickly he used to run between wickets, but it is an open secret that his knees are not what they used to be, and in the modern-day T20 game, one just can't rely on power hitting.
Cricket fans and Chennai Super Kings' supporters were flabbergasted and left fuming when MS Dhoni came to bat at number nine against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Dhoni had promoted R. Ashwin ahead of him when CSK needed over 100 runs to win with just 36 balls remaining. In the game against Rajasthan Royals , MSD teased the fans with his vintage best as he was bestowed with the task of getting 20 runs from six balls, but unfortunately, he couldn't pull the chase off, something that has made him the legend that he is.
After the match, Chennai Super Kings Head Coach Stephen Fleming gave some interesting details about the former skipper, which sparks major concern, not just about his batting, but also his wicketkeeping fitness. "MS judges it. His body, his knees aren't what they used to be, and he's moving okay, but there's still a nutrition aspect to it. I said it last year, he's too valuable to us, leadership and wicketkeeping, to throw him in at 9, 10 overs. He's actually never done that. So, look, from around 13, 14 overs, he's looking to go, depending on who's in," said Fleming.
The five-time champions started their IPL 2025 campaign by defeating arch-rivals Mumbai Indians in their fortress, but their happiness was short-lived. In the next game, Royal Challengers Bengaluru decimated CSK in front of their home crowd and earned their first victory in Chepauk since 2008. In their third game, the Chennai Super Kings were expected to bring their IPL 2025 campaign back on track with a match against the Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati, but the five-time champions failed to chase down 182-odd runs and ended up losing the match by 6 runs.
Published March 31st 2025, 11:30 IST