IPL 2025: MS Dhoni’s refusal to accept modern T20 template counter-productive for CSK

IPL 2025: Is CSK playing modern-day T20 cricket or sticking to an outdated one? Should MS Dhoni and the management reconsider their strategy?

There’s a familiar charm that falls over Chepauk whenever MS Dhoni walks in. The kind of reverent silence that believes in him and feels confident of his presence. But, since the Indian Premier League 2025 started, the charm has been strained. 

The five-time champions, Chennai Super Kings, look loose and broken. Worse is their leader, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s post-match speech, which sounded more defeated than ever following CSK’s eight-wicket defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders-one of the worst losses in their IPL history.

CSK, a franchise known for stability, experience, and calculated brilliance, now look like a team that’s wandered into the wrong season. Five losses in six games. Their worst defeat ever in IPL history. And, a style of cricket that feels like it belongs to a different era, i.e., quaint, polite, and thoroughly unthreatening.

The cricket experts and enthusiasts interpret it right. CSK aren’t just losing matches. They’re losing identity.

At a time when T20 cricket is revolutionising, where 200+ is a routine score and risk is persistent every ball, CSK are still nursing their wickets like porcelain teacups. Their top-order seems built to bat for the long haul, but unfortunately, the IPL isn’t a Test match.

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Poor performance haunt CSK in IPL 2025
The men in yellow have hit just three sixes in the powerplay across six games, the lowest of any team by far. On Friday, they limped to 31 by the end of six overs. KKR had nearly doubled that by their third over. 

Sadly, Dhoni has defended their approach. He insists that preserving wickets, playing orthodox shots, and pushing deep into the innings is the way to go. That if his openers can stick around long enough, the runs will come.

The openers, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra, have struggled to find rhythm. Conway, once a bankable top-order batter, has carried his international struggles into the IPL with just 94 runs in three matches at a significantly poor strike rate of 127.03. Rachin, a revelation in ODIs, seems shackled by the tempo of T20s as he managed to bag only 149 runs in six matches at a strike rate of 126.27. And with Ruturaj Gaikwad injured, CSK’s powerplay engine has stalled completely.

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Dhoni is lacking his sharpness
Dhoni’s leadership has always been CSK’s golden compass. From transforming journeymen into match-winners to orchestrating comebacks with an icy pulse, he was the soul behind the yellow machine.

But this year, something’s changed. He isn’t the centrepiece anymore. He rarely bats before the 15th over. His fitness, sharpness, and finishing aura, though still valuable, are no longer enough to turn games single-handedly. And worse, his body language has portrayed something more worrisome than fatigue. 

His decision to delay his entry till the 15th over on Friday, when CSK were 72 for 7, baffled fans and experts alike. It felt like the ultimate symbol of a once-dominant team not just being outplayed—but out-thought.

Matthew Hayden, a former CSK opener, was quick to critique Dhoni’s strategy: “You hear MS Dhoni talk about the powerplay. Simon Katich asked him a question and his response was, look, we’ve just got to be conservative. We’ve got to play the whole 20 overs. I disagree. You know, when you’re giving away 30 runs (difference between the two powerplays). That’s exactly what happened tonight inside the powerplay. KKR were 60. CSK were 30. 30 is often a multiple of five times the advantage that you can afford to give away in an IPL.”

CSK’s reluctance to rotate their squad or blood new talent is now hurting them. Youngsters like Vansh Bedi, Andre Siddarth, and Shaikh Rasheed are cooling their heels while veterans continue to misfire. It’s ironic that this same franchise once unearthed Ruturaj Gaikwad during a phase of chaos. That leap of faith gave them a star.

This time, though, they seem content with recycling. As Piyush Chawla recently put it, “You’ve already seen enough of Tripathi and Hooda. Give someone else a chance. A new face can change not just a game—but the mood of the team.”

It’s not about wholesale changes. It’s about showing intent. Right now, even that feels absent.

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The bowling blues
It’s not just the batting either. CSK’s famed spin twins, Ashwin and Jadeja, are shadows of their former selves. Ashwin is going at nearly 10 an over. Jadeja is economical but lacks bite. They’re not creating pressure, they’re absorbing it.

Matheesha Pathirana, their one genuine strike bowler, is often held back till the middle overs. But by the time he enters, the opposition already has one hand on the win. Khaleel Ahmed has been serviceable. Noor Ahmed has shown glimpses. But the collective force isn’t enough.

CSK aren’t just losing the powerplay with the bat. They’re surrendering it with the ball too.

More than just cricket
The belief of the fans is flickering. Not because of the losses—but because of the sense that the team has stopped evolving. That the flame isn’t being passed. That the transition isn’t being planned.

The empire MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming built out of loyalty, grit, and calm under pressure, is beginning to feel brittle. Not because the ideas are bad, but because the game has changed faster than they’ve adapted.

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