After losing three out of their last four games, Chennai Super Kings are struggling at the 9th spot on the IPL 2025 points table. They did kick off the season with a win against Mumbai Indians at home, but since then, they’ve lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Rajasthan Royals, and Delhi Capitals—two of those losses came at Chepauk. A big issue has been CSK’s inability to chase down targets. They won against MI by four wickets, but the losses to RCB by 50 runs, RR by 6 runs, and DC by 25 runs show they haven’t been consistent.
Their opening batsmen haven’t been able to put together solid partnerships, and the top order isn’t performing well either. Another point of concern is where MS Dhoni is batting in the lineup. He’s often coming in later, sometimes when the game feels nearly decided. In the match against DC, Dhoni came in during the 10th over after CSK lost half their team and still needed 110 runs off 52 balls. They needed some big hits, but both Vijay Shankar and Dhoni couldn’t get the runs quickly enough, leading to DC’s first win over CSK in Chennai since IPL 2010.
After the latest loss, former India opener Wasim Jaffer shared that if Dhoni isn’t leading the team anymore, it might be time to let a younger player take his spot. He mentioned that seeing Dhoni bat this way is tough, especially if he’s not captaining. Jaffer noted that Dhoni’s struggles could be linked to not playing much outside of the IPL. “When you haven’t played a lot, it’s harder. He typically bats lower, but when the team loses five wickets quickly, he has to come in,” he explained.
Still, Jaffer thinks CSK has bigger worries than just Dhoni’s form. “The real problem is the top order isn’t scoring runs. It doesn’t look like they can chase anymore. They lost by a decent margin last game and this one too, and this isn’t the CSK we’re used to. Whenever CSK picks a player, you expect good performances, but that hasn’t happened this time with guys like Tripathi or Deepak Hooda. It’s been rough, he said. I feel for the fans who come out in large numbers. I haven’t seen CSK perform this poorly at home before.