For years, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were T20 revolutionaries, especially in the Indian Premier League (IPL). They used DJ Bravo as the designated death bowler. Employed Deepak Chahar as a powerplay specialist. Assembled a squad specifically for home conditions, knowing that winning the majority of them would take them to the playoffs. Now, they are lagging behind. And the man who led the revolution, MS Dhoni, might be the reason why CSK is struggling.
CSK behind the eight ball
Since winning their 5th title in 2023, CSK have finished 5th and 10th. In IPL 2026, they are ranked 8th after 6 matches. Sanja Manjrekar, a former Indian cricketer, believes CSK ownership’s obsession with living in the past, Dhoni, is the reason behind them falling behind teams like Punjab Kings or Royal Challengers Bengaluru, two of the weakest teams in the IPL historically.
Manjrekar didn’t mention Rohit Sharma, but it was clear that he was hinting at him as well. CSK and the Mumbai Indians (MI) aren’t taking risks. By backing players past their prime, they’ve handicapped themselves. While Rohit has shown the ability to play long innings, Dhoni averaged just 11.15 balls per match in IPL 2025.
“CSK and Mumbai Indians are slightly guilty of being emotionally connected and invested in the big-name, big-brand players a bit too much. CSK even more so with Dhoni. This means that you’re not getting people who are in their prime. It’s like living in the past a little bit. It’s just about getting guys who are in their prime in T20 cricket. It’s such a modern-day format, so it’s best to be current with everything that you do with your team.
This blame, I’m going to put at the doorstep of the owners and people who make the big decisions. Because Gaikwad, before he was captain, was phenomenal at the top of the order. And then that thing with MS Dhoni, whether he’s going to be playing, whether he’s going to be captain, they handled that very badly. And this is where you see the sycophancy of Indian culture that has seeped into cricket as well. I mean, there isn’t just a fan following of Dhoni, there is sycophancy around it,” Manjrekar told SportStar.
Can’t criticise star Indian cricketers
Indian cricket experts, most of whom are former experts, aren’t critical of current Indian cricketers. Especially the big ones. It almost seems like Virat Kohli, Rohit, or Dhoni can’t do anything wrong. Using Dhoni as an example, Manjrekar explained that most don’t criticise him or other players because they have been elevated to another level. To their fans, they aren’t just cricketers but demi-gods.
“There was [this] one instance of Dhoni trying to put his bat into the crease, and it was a very close call. And I said, ‘Well, he is clearly short of the crease, and it should be a run-out.’ They [fans] got angry with me for saying that because it was anti-Dhoni. So somewhere they lost sight of the whole picture,” he added.
Ruturaj Gaikwad confused?
Manjrekar found it amusing that Dhoni was playing just a couple of balls. But, he was surprised to see that experts and fans were happy about it, failing to realise that his knocks were doing more damage than helping CSK. The franchise was accommodating a player, creating a space for him, rather than him coming in as a natural selection. His fitness isn’t even permitting that anymore. The 44-year-old hasn’t played a match for CSK this season, as he’s recovering from a calf injury.
He believes that the obsession with Dhoni has left CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad confused. Anything that goes well, Dhoni gets the credit for. But when it goes wrong, Gaikwad gets all the blame. It’s as if he has no authority. Despite being the captain, he isn’t calling the shots.
“Then you have to play Dhoni on the field. And how do you do that? I mean, increasingly, he’s finding it tough to deliver. So, it was a bit of a joke when he used to come down the order and just play 3 or 4 balls. The coverage would hype that up as well – ‘What an innings.’ And it lasted four balls. So that’s not feasible anymore, and it was never going to be a long-term thing. So, I can’t pretend to know how Ruturaj felt when MS was on the field, but not captaining, as opposed to MS not being there and he being solely in charge,” Manjrekar concluded.
‘CSK living in the past’ – Sanju Manjrekar perplexed with MS Dhoni playing in IPL 2026 Inside Sport India.
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