MS Dhoni all but gives up on Chennai Super Kings’ IPL 2025 title hopes

With Chennai Super Kings stuck at the bottom of IPL Points Table, MS Dhoni has all but given up on hoped of IPL 2025 playoffs.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) suffered their sixth defeat of IPL 2025. The Men in Yellow were humbled by their arch-rivals Mumbai Indians, by 9 wickets at the Wankhede Stadium. While mathematically, the five-time champions can still qualify for the IPL playoffs, stand-in captain MS Dhoni has already given up on the hopes. With young Ayush Mhatre and Shaik Rasheed performing well apart from some young guns in the squad, Dhoni wants to create the best 11 for IPL 2026.

“Other than that we are just trying to plug in the holes, with all the games that are in front of us that we are supposed to win, we just take it one game at a time and if we lose a few, what will be important for us is to get the right combination for next year. You don’t want too many players getting changed, what will be important is to try and qualify, but if not get a secured 11 for next year and come back strong,” MS Dhoni said at the post-match presentation.

Dhoni not happy with batting

Sent to bat, CSK posted 176/5 against Mumbai. They were well below par, and the reason could be middle-overs. With Rachin Ravindra failing to give them a good start once again, debutant Ayush Mhatre took charge with a blazing 15-ball 35-run knock. However, despite him going all guns blazing, CSK could only score 48/1 in the powerplay. The other opener, Shaik Rasheed, was going at a run-a-ball.

The issues were exposed in the middle overs when Mhatre fell. Ravindra Jadeja, promoted to No 4, was off to a sluggish start. Shivam Dube, who joined in after Rasheed perished, also scored at a snail’s pace. From 48/1 in 6 overs, CSK managed 103 in 14 overs. In the eight overs, CSK scored just 55 runs at a run rate of 6.90. By the time Jadeja and Dube accelerated, they left it too late. In the last five overs, CSK scored 73 runs.

“I think we were quite below par. We all knew that dew would come in the second half, and we were in a position to exploit the middle overs. I felt once they started their death bowling early, that was the time we should have capitalised and started our slog slightly early. It would have been a plus point had Bumrah also gone for runs. We could have got slightly more runs. We needed those runs because 175 with the dew around is not a par score,” Dhoni said.

Can CSK qualify for IPL 2025 playoffs?

The poor start and sluggish batting in the middle overs against Mumbai Indians were not one-offs. It has been the case the whole season. Hence, even though it is not impossible for CSK to qualify for the playoffs, it’s a tall task. They must change their approach. But do they have the players to initiate that change? Maybe not.

• CSK are at the bottom of the IPL Points Table with four points from 8 matches. To qualify, CSK need at least 16 points. Hence, they need to win all their remaining six matches. Winning six matches will take their total points to 16, all but ensuring their qualification.
• CSK can also qualify with 14 points if other results go their way. CSK needs to win at least five out of six and hopes that teams like Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Titans, Punjab Kings, and Lucknow Super Giants will all drop points. In short, CSK’s fate will be decided by others.

However, the problems CSK have at the moment may not go away. What CSK need is a batter who can score at a rapid rate in the middle-overs. Chennai has tried the likes of Vijay Shankar and Rahul Tripathi, who are all established and experienced players, but in vain.

The addition of Dewald Brevis and Ayush Mhatre could do the trick. Mhatre showed that he can score quick runs at the top while Brevis can go all guns blazing in the middle-overs at No 4. But CSK need to give both the time that they don’t have.

“As a youngster, he (Ayush Mhatre) batted really well. That’s the kind of approach that is needed, where you play your shots and at the same time you pick your shots, that is your strength. So, it is a good sign for us at the top of the order that if he can keep playing the shots, it will become slightly easier for the middle and lower order,” Dhoni said.