Former India player Aakash Chopra didn’t name MS Dhoni, but he held the CSK captain responsible for the franchise’s slump in the Indian Premier League 2025. With Chennai losing seven games in the 18th season, former players and fans are questioning the performance of the team. The five-time champions are out of the playoff race, as winning the remaining games will not guarantee them a spot in the next round. Ruturaj Gaikwad was the franchise captain when the tournament started, but he was ruled out after fracturing his elbow. Dhoni returned as skipper but failed to end the losing streak.
The 43-year-old is living on borrowed time in the cash-rich league and, despite facing fitness issues, hasn’t called it a day. His batting and wicket-keeping have been impacted, with the player not able to give his hundred percent. Aakash opined on the performance of the Chennai-based team.
“If credit is given to someone, fingers will be pointed towards him when the team loses games. CSK is not a team but a philosophy. They played T20 cricket differently and won titles. Chennai make us believe that grand dad’s army can win the trophies. If you check their auction, they couldn’t sign just two players they wanted in the team. Deepak Chahar and Tushar Deshpande didn’t return, but the rest of the team remained the same,” he said.
“Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway once again joined Chennai. INR 30 crore were spent on the spinners. You have to question their philosophy,” he added.
Dhoni is likely to announce retirement from the Indian Premier League after the current edition.
Leave a Reply