The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were the most consistent Indian Premier League (IPL) team until the 2023 season. In the 14 editions of the tournament they featured, CSK lifted the trophy on 5 occasions and made 5 additional finals. The Mumbai Indians (MI) are level with them when it comes to the number of IPL titles, but CSK has won more matches and qualified for the playoffs more often. Without a doubt, Chennai was the most consistent team.
CSK’s decline
However, in the next three seasons, CSK has finished 5th, 10th and 8th. They are 17-25. What’s the reason behind a sudden decline? Well, the answer isn’t simple. Ruturaj Gaikwad’s appointment as captain, replacing MS Dhoni, isn’t the reason. The approach, auction strategy, retentions, and injuries. There are multiple factors at play.
RCB have now reached the IPL final for the fifth time #IPL #RCB #CSK #MI #Cricket pic.twitter.com/TLFH5X0UPK
— InsideSport (@InsideSportIND) May 26, 2026Ruturaj Gaikwad’s own rough patch
But naturally, Gaikwad’s faced the brunt. Partially because his own performance wasn’t great in IPL 2026. The opener averaged 28.08. As a run accumulator, that isn’t great. However, his strike rate, 123.44, was the major issue. When you have the likes of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma and Priyansh Arya, what Gaikwad did just wasn’t acceptable.
Injury woes
Naturally, Gaikwad isn’t pleased that CSK haven’t qualified for the IPL Playoffs for the last three seasons. But he believes it isn’t just his or one player’s performance that has been the root cause. In 2025, Gaikwad played just 5 matches, and Gurjapneet Singh wasn’t available. In 2026, Dewald Brevis, Ayush Mhatre, Nathan Ellis, Jamie Overton, Khaleel Ahmed and Dhoni were all injured. Not for the entire season but at various times.
“The last two years haven’t gone the way everyone expected. But you have to understand certain dynamics and factors that affect a season. Even in 2025, me being captain and missing more than half the tournament was definitely a setback. Last year too, we had four or five players from our playing XII miss almost half the tournament,” Gaikwad told Sportstar.
Gaikwad believes injuries have derailed them in the last two years. To some extent, that’s true. But one can’t forget that neither Mhatre nor Brevis would’ve been with them if not for these injuries. The CSK captain believes that even the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, 2-time reigning IPL champions, might have struggled if, say, Rajat Patidar had missed the majority of the last season or Josh Hazlewood had been ruled out in 2026.
Even if you look at the successful teams like RCB, if you take away three or four major players, it is definitely going to have an impact. Those are factors a lot of people don’t take into consideration. It is a results-driven tournament, and everyone expects CSK to do well every year because that’s what the franchise has done for 15 or 16 seasons,” he added.
Ayush Mhatre reacts after being ruled out of the IPL 2026 due to hamstring injury #AyushMhatre #CSK #IPL2026 #Insidesport #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/mIc0VJnImT
— InsideSport (@InsideSportIND) April 22, 2026Hope for IPL 2027
CSK fans have wanted blood. Some wanted head coach Stephen Fleming to be sacked, others Gaikwad, while many even called for both to lose their jobs. However, Gaikwad has urged CSK fans to show some patience and given them another year. He believes the trajectory is upwards from here.
“But there will always be phases where things don’t go your way. You learn from them and try to improve. Compared to 2025, I felt we had a much better season in 2026. There will be more improvements going into next year,” said Gaikwad.
CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad vows improvement in IPL 2027, blames injuries for mediocre performance Inside Sport India.
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