After Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) sorry run in IPL 2025 continued with a five-wicket defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), former India batter Ambati Rayudu stated that the five-time champions will henceforth be highly attentive about evolving as per the current style of playing T20 cricket. Despite making some changes to their playing eleven at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, CSK’s quest to get a win didn’t yield the desired result, resulting in them still staying at tenth place in the points table.
“I know it’s the lowest of lows, but it’s also a great learning for CSK. If you rest on your laurels and don’t keep an eye on the future, this is what can happen. From here on, they’ll be very, very vigilant about evolving with the game. Even MS Dhoni has acknowledged that the game has moved on, and I’m sure he’s already thinking about building a team for next year.”
“We’ve seen some shining lights in the batting line-up, particularly Brevis and Mhatre – those are real positives. Sometimes, it takes a season like this to ground a team and remind them that the game is always bigger than us. You have to stick to the basics and stay humble,” said Rayudu on JioStar.
The only silver linings for CSK were Ayush Mhatre’s 30 and Dewald Brevis making 42 on his debut for the franchise. Rayudu also addressed CSK’s continuous batting struggles in the season. “I don’t think there’s confusion in shot selection – if anything, there aren’t enough shots being played. The batters are taking more time than they should.”
“The change in personnel was needed, and what we’re seeing now is more of a trial run for next season. I don’t think CSK can carry forward most of their current squad – at best, seven or eight players might be retained,” he added.
Saturday’s IPL 2025 game will see Shreyas Iyer leading Punjab Kings against his former side Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens. PBKS had earlier defeated KKR when they defended 111 in New Chandigarh.
“He’ll carry great memories of the ground and of KKR, having won the IPL with them last season. There’ll be a bit of fire in the belly—he wasn’t retained, and now he’s captaining Punjab. I think he’ll be focused and motivated. Punjab looks the stronger side this season, and I see them as serious contenders for the playoffs,” concluded Rayudu.
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