The 2025 IPL season has been a nightmare for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who are now staring down the barrel of playoff elimination. With just four points from nine games and sitting at the bottom of the table, their Friday night defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by five wickets only added to the growing list of setbacks. To make matters worse, the early-season injury to captain Ruturaj Gaikwad has left a leadership vacuum, with MS Dhoni once again having to shoulder the team’s burden.
So far, CSK have used 20 out of their 27-player squad in a desperate attempt to find the right combination. Against SRH, Dewald Brevis was given his debut, and Ayush Mhatre was promoted as an opener, but the shuffle didn’t yield the desired result.
Amidst this turmoil, former CSK star Suresh Raina made some shocking revelations on Star Sports, strongly criticizing the franchise’s auction decisions and exposing the behind-the-scenes dynamics.
“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,” Raina said.
Raina suggested that the core auction decisions were made without Dhoni’s deep involvement and that the current squad composition reflects a serious lapse in judgment.
“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.
”He didn’t hold back in expressing frustration about the performance of some of the big names in the squad:
“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 ₹18 crores, ₹17 crores, ₹12 crores—they’re not responding to the captain.”
Raina also pointed out the recurring mistakes and lack of match-winners:
“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.”
The most chilling part of his revelation came when he spoke about Dhoni’s demeanor post-match and what it could mean for the team’s future:
“I think MS Dhoni will now sit down—he won’t want anyone around him. He knows CSK didn’t buy properly in auction. He wouldn’t have allowed it. 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.”
Historically, CSK has managed miraculous comebacks, even after poor starts. But with only five games left, and morale at an all-time low, the road ahead looks steep. Unless there’s a dramatic turnaround, this could be remembered as one of CSK’s darkest seasons—and potentially the end of an era if Dhoni chooses to step away.
Fans are now anxiously waiting to see how the franchise responds to this crisis, and whether the leadership under Dhoni will be able to pull off one last miracle.
