Former India cricketer Suresh Raina has pointed fingers at the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) management for the team’s underwhelming IPL 2025 campaign, stating that MS Dhoni had minimal involvement in the franchise’s auction planning. According to Raina, the lack of Dhoni’s strategic influence has left the team struggling to find balance and consistency this season.
CSK’s season in the present installment of the IPL has been marred with setbacks, with their playoff prospects now on life support. Saturday’s five-wicket defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad was their seventh loss of the campaign and their fourth home loss in a row at Chepauk a place that was once referred to as a CSK fortress. In an attempt to resurrect their fortunes, the team has already utilized 20 players out of their 27-strong squad, trying out combinations in nearly every match. Their recent risk involved giving a debut to Dewald Brevis and promoting budding Ayush Mhatre, CSK’s youngest-ever opener, but to no avail.
Raina also spoke about a widespread misperception among fans Dhoni makes all the key decisions at CSK, particularly in relation to player auctions. He explained that the disappointing team build-up this season wasn’t on Dhoni, who, as much as he had committed to being a leader, hasn’t been the one wielding the sticks behind the scenes.
Although CSK have five games remaining in the group stage, their road to the playoffs appears to be more and more hopeless. Nevertheless, if history is any guide, CSK are infamous for rebounding after lackluster seasons frequently coming back stronger and reasserting themselves as title hopefuls.
“Kashi sir – I think he has been handling the administration for almost 30 to 40 years now. And Rupa Ma’am is managing all the cricket administration – buying the players, maintaining the core group. But everyone knows that the players bought this time weren’t selected properly,” Suresh Raina said while speaking on Star Sports.
Also Read: CSK Vs SRH: Kamindu Mendis Misses Free Hit, Kavya Maran’s Furious Reaction Goes Viral – WATCH
“They always say MS Dhoni makes the final call. But to be very honest, I never attended any of the auctions. I was never a part of those discussions. I always talked about the players who were retained. MS might get a call about whether to go ahead with a player or not – but he’s not that involved.”
“The core group handles the auction – you can imagine, Dhoni can’t have this type of auction. He would maybe name four or five players he wants, and out of them, a few would be retained. Even if an uncapped player is working hard, look at MS Dhoni-—being a 43-year-old captain, still giving everything.”
“He’s playing just for the brand, for his name, for the fandom – and still putting in the effort. At 43, he’s doing wicketkeeping, captaining, carrying the entire team on his shoulders. But what are the other ten players doing?”
“Those who are paid Rs 18 crores, Rs 17 crores, Rs 12 crores – they’re not responding to the captain. Especially when you’ve never lost to certain teams before – that needs to be rectified. You have to identify – is this player a match-winner?”
“Can I trust this player in the next match? There are players who’ve been playing there for years – even the older ones. But what are the results? You’re losing. The same mistakes are happening every time.”
“I think MS Dhoni will now sit down – he won’t want anyone around him. He must have made up his mind. “After the toss, when they lost, the way he walked – and both of them were standing there – it’s clear there’s going to be a meeting today,” Raina added.
