Chennai Super Kings (CSK) slumped to their sixth defeat in eight matches in IPL 2025 on Sunday, losing by nine wickets to Mumbai Indians (MI). The defeat meant that CSK remain rock bottom in the IPL points table, with playoff hopes fading away. CSK’s batting and bowling have failed to deliver consistently on many occasions, and the defeat to MI prompted former India cricketer and CSK legend Suresh Raina to question the franchise’s strategy in the IPL 2025 mega auction.
“Mujhe lagta hai kahin na kahin inse (CSK) auction acha nahi hua hai. Auction main itne talented players, itne youngsters the. Kaha hai woh players? (I feel that CSK’s auction wasn’t good. There are so many youngsters and talents in the auction. Where are they?)” said Raina, speaking on Star Sports.
CSK had entered the IPL 2025 mega auction with a purse of RS 55 crore. Noor Ahmad (Rs 10 crore) and R Ashwin (Rs 9.75 crore) were their two highest buys. However, Raina criticised the franchise for missing out on names like Shreyas Iyer or Rishabh Pant.
“Aap itna paisa leke jaate ho auction ke liye. Aapne Rishabh Pant ko chhoda, Shreyas Iyer ko chhoda, KL Rahul ko chhoda. CSK team ko kabhi aise nahi dekha struggle karte huye (You took so much money into the auction, but you let go of Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul. I’ve never seen CSK struggle like this),” said Raina.
Fellow former CSK player Harbhajan Singh echoed Raina’s sentiments, and lay a question mark on the talent scouts of CSK.
“Yuvaon main bhi waise yuva dikhe nahi jo game-changing wali innings khel sake. Inke talent pool ko jo hunt karte hai unko bhi bitha ke puchhna chahiye ki ‘kya aapne hume information di thi jiske chalte humne yeh logon ko select kiya tha‘ (Even the CSK youngsters don’t seem to be ones who can play a game-changing innings. Whoever talent-hunted for CSK should be questioned where they got their information from for these players),” Harbhajan said.
While Noor has been a revelation, picking up 12 wickets in eight matches, CSK’s other big-name purchases have not stepped up. Ashwin finds himself in and out of the team after patchy form, while the likes of Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Jamie Overton, Vijay Shankar and Rahul Tripathi have fared poorly. Even high-price retentions like Ravindra Jadeja (Rs 18 crore) have put in sub-par performances.
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