3 Reasons Why CSK Is Eliminated From IPL 2025: The Chennai Super Kings have become the first team to be eliminated from the race to the playoffs in IPL 2025. The five-time champions are out of the top-four contention after playing just 10 matches. While this might be embarrassing for any team, it is downright humiliating for a team like CSK.
The Super Kings are the joint-most successful team in the history of the Indian Premier League, having won the title five times and making it to the final a further five times. They have not made it to the playoffs on only two occasions in the 15 seasons they have played before this one. Not only that, but it is now the first time that CSK has not made it to the playoffs for two seasons in a row.
At this point, the Chennai Super Kings stand at 10th in the IPL table. In the 10 matches they have played, they have won two and lost eight. They also have the worst net run rate in the league by a mile.
So, what are the reasons behind Chennai’s elimination from IPL 2025? Why is this team, which is a favourite to win the competition each season, en route to finishing at the bottom of the table this time around? Here are 3 reasons why CSK is eliminated from IPL 2025.
3 Reasons Why CSK Is Eliminated From IPL 2025
3) An Underwhelming Auction
The Chennai Super Kings had an underwhelming mega-auction ahead of IPL 2025. It is something that was pointed out right after the auction, but due to the fans’ and experts’ faith in the franchise because of their long era of success, people trusted that CSK would still be in contention for the playoffs and the title. However, the squad was just not a title-winning one.
First, the retentions. Ruturaj Gaikwad was retained first and was the team captain who got injured mid-season. Ravindra Jadeja had a decent season with the ball but is clearly not the player he used to be after his T20I retirement. Matheesha Pathirana had a super disappointing season, so much so that the Super Kings’ bowling coach Eric Simmons pointed it out. Shivam Dube just had a very underwhelming season. And finally, MS Dhoni, who showed glimpses of the player he used to be, but five years after his retirement, he will not drag a team to the playoffs on his own.
Then we come to Chennai’s big auction buys. A lot of faith was put into Rahul Tripathi, who had his worst IPL season so far. Rachin Ravindra showed that he might not be a great choice to open in T20s. Veteran spinner Ravichandra Ashwin didn’t look like his former self after retirement from international cricket. And the likes of Devon Conway, Vijay Shankar, and Deepak Hooda just didn’t do well this season.
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2) Over-Reliance On Seniors / Lack Of Faith In Youngsters
The Chennai Super Kings relied a little too much on their senior and experienced players. MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja have always been at the core of this team for the past decade. This time, Shivam Dube and Ravi Ashwin looked to be part of this core. And if Dhoni, at the age of 43, is the best-performing player in your core group of experienced players, there are massive concerns to address in your team.
However, the bigger reason for the team’s downfall in IPL 2025 was reliance on experienced players outside this core group. Devon Conway was given opportunity after opportunity despite failing in the first half of the season, when Shaik Rasheed, who has impressed in recent games, was on the bench.
The likes of Deepak Hooda and Vijay Shankar were given multiple chances despite poor performances in place of players like Anshul Kambhoj. And while Matheesha Pathirana might not be a veteran, he is an experienced player in the IPL, and CSK’s reliance on him and not giving a chance to the likes of Mukesh Choudhary and Kamlesh Nagarkoti in his place clearly cost this team.
Another issue in a similar regard is CSK’s talent identification, which has come under fire this season and has been addressed by the coaching staff, too. The team’s batting coach, Mike Hussey, recently commented on how the Super Kings want to work upon and improve on their ability to identify talent and players that can win them the title.
Check Out: 3 Reasons Why CSK Is Eliminated From IPL 2025
1) Lack Of Attacking Intent / Almost No 200+ Scores
In this era of 200+ scores being almost regular in the IPL, CSK’s refusal to adapt to this new style and play more attacking cricket cost them big time this season.
A stat that became well-known this season is how CSK has not chased a target of over 180 runs since IPL 2018, when they beat SRH by chasing 181 in Pune. Since then, forgetting 200 and chasing a decent target of 180 has been a trouble. This says that this team, with a player like MS Dhoni in the squad, does not like chasing.
However, this team has not even put up big scores while batting first this season. At the higher end, the Chennai Super Kings might score 180-190 while batting first, which, combined with their underwhelming bowling this season, is not a big enough score to win.
This happens due to a lack of intent in their batting order. For a lot of the season, an out-of-form Devon Conway and a slow-batting Rachi Ravindra opened the batting, followed by an extremely out-of-form Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda, who is not a properly proven IPL batter, another out-of-form batter in Vijay Shankar, a veteran in Ravindra Jadeja who is not the batter he used to be in his heyday, and MS Dhoni, who comes in to bat too late.
In IPL 2025, CSK has crossed the 200-run mark only once. While chasing a target of 220 against the Punjab Kings in New Chandigarh, the Super Kings scored 201 and lost the game by 18 runs. This shows a clear lack of attacking talent in this team. But more importantly, it seems that due to their over-reliance on the past, this franchise has been left in the past, while others have made strides towards the future of T20 cricket.
Check Out: 3 Reasons Why CSK Is Eliminated From IPL 2025
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