The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) strategically bid in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction to maintain a perfect balance of young and experienced talents in the squad. With the reputation of being one of the most IPL successful franchises, the five-time champions aim for their sixth championship title in the upcoming 18th season.
A disappointing season in 2024 under Ruturaj’s captaincy resulted in CSK’s failure to qualify for playoffs ranking at 5th position in the points table. As a result, the franchise tried its best efforts to strengthen its squad by addressing the loopholes. At the same time, these five reliable players were retained ahead of the mega auction that includes the names of:
- MS Dhoni (Uncapped): Wicketkeeper and Finishing Batsman.
- Ravindra Jadeja (Capped): Spin-bowling all-rounder.
- Ruturaj Gaikwad (Capped): Adaptable Batsman at opening and middle order position.
- Shivam Dube (Capped): Pace Bowling All-rounder.
- Matheesha Pathirana (Capped): A quality death over pace bowler.
Despite spending substantial funds to sign 20 new players in the bidding event, Chennai Super Kings still bears 3 major weaknesses that are expected to continue for the next season as well.
1. No Backup Wicketkeeper for 43-Year-Old Dhoni:
Since the IPL’s inaugural season in 2008, MS Dhoni has been the heart and soul of the CSK franchise performing multiple roles as a captain, wicketkeeper, and best-finishing batter.
Even at the age of 43, Dhoni has proven his fitness levels and those flying catches in the previous season provided fans a glimpse of his vintage days. However, the excess workload and aging factor might restrict his participation.
The only backup wicketkeeper is the New Zealand’s left-handed batter Devon Conway who could perform as a part-time keeper in MSD’s absence. However, relying on a keeper who occasionally performs the role behind the stumps might cause mistakes in a highly pressurized game.
As Dhoni is no longer the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain, he might prefer being a part of the playing XI only for a few matches, based on his fitness.
Not having a second full-time wicketkeeper in the squad is the first major drawback the Yellow Army might face in the upcoming season.
2. Lack of Best Finishers, Dependence on Dube, Jadeja and Dhoni
MS Dhoni known for his best finishing skills has batted lower the order, particularly at No.8 in the past couple of seasons and not having the best finishers in the squad would add pressure on Shivam Dube.
The five-time winning captain in the previous season played only 73 balls and scored 171 runs with a 200-plus strike rate and an average above 53. Whereas in IPL 2023, the right-handed batter scored 104 runs out of 57 balls played.
Although Ravindra Jadeja has guided his team to several match-winning totals in the past seasons, his retirement from T20Is poses questions about his performance in IPL 2025. In the last three editions, the all-rounder managed to score 573 runs in 33 innings having the best strike rate of 137.08.
Dube who bats at No.4 or 5 needs to sharpen his power-hitting abilities, particularly in the death overs. An additional responsibility would further pressurize him and impact his natural batting style. Suppose the 31-year-old fails to perform his role, then CSK once again needs to depend on Jadeja and Dhoni to help accelerate the team’s total.
3. No Death Over Specialist Except Pathirana
There is no doubt that Matheesha Pathirana has always been a reliable death-over bowler for CSK since his IPL debut in 2022 having bagged 34 wickets in 20 innings.
But what if the Sri Lankan pacer gets injured or suddenly leaves the team in the middle of the season to fulfill the national commitments? In such scenarios, CSK will be in a dilemma to find a perfect replacement.
There are other key pacers in the squad such as Khaleel Ahmed and Mukesh Choudhary who are known for their impressive performances in the beginning stages of an innings. But the duo bowlers’ contributions wouldn’t be effective in the final overs of the game.
The only option left for the men-in-yellow would be relying on the Australian medium pacer Nathan Ellis as an emergency backup. Since his IPL debut in 2021, the 30-year-old Aussie contributed with a decent bowling performance having taken 18 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 28.22 and economy of 7.88.
Final Opinion:
As CSK aims to reach playoffs and win their 6th IPL title, they should sort out these weaknesses and prepare a solid starting XI by knowing the strength of their bench players. This helps to bridge the gaps of not having any backup wicketkeeper, finishing batter, and death over bowler.
Even after having a strong batting and bowling unit, CSK’s main playing XI should stay fit throughout the season to make solid contributions that help to compensate for their weaknesses and ensure success in the next season.
