Former India cricketer Suresh Raina has blamed the Chennai Super Kings management for the team’s struggles in IPL 2025. He said that MS Dhoni had very little say in the team’s auction plans, and because of that, CSK is now finding it hard to perform well this season.
Chennai Super Kings’ IPL 2025 season has been really disappointing, with their chances of making the playoffs almost gone after a series of poor games. On Saturday, CSK faced their seventh loss of the season, losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets. This defeat also made it their fourth straight loss at Chepauk this year. Desperate to find a winning combination, CSK have used 20 out of their 27-player squad so far. In their most recent outing, they handed a debut to Dewald Brevis and promoted Ayush Mhatre, their youngest-ever player, to open the innings. The move, however, did little to change their fortunes.
“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.
Raina Says Dhoni Not Involved in CSK’s Auction Decisions
“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 openly pointed out the stark difference between Dhoni’s dedication and the half-hearted efforts of others.
“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.”
Raina ended by hinting that a big change might be coming, and it could be led by Dhoni himself
“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.
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