AGENCY
NEW DELHI, Apr 7
Twice in the last five years, a poor start has spelt doom for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and IPL 2025 is showing signs of heading down the same path.
In 2020, CSK lost three of their first four matches and stumbled to a ninth-place finish with just six wins. In 2022, they opened with four consecutive defeats and ended up ninth again, this time with only four wins.
Everything that could go wrong for them this season has, starting with the apparent lack of home advantage, according to coach Stephen Fleming. Rahul Tripathi and Deepak Hooda, two big Indian signings, have failed to deliver and have already been dropped from the XI.
Their reservation in backing their young Indian talent – like Shaikh Rasheed and Andre Siddarth – has left CSK’s batting heavily dependent on their overseas stars and Ruturaj Gaikwad.
To make matters worse, Gaikwad isn’t even batting in his preferred position at the top of the order, where he won the Orange Cap during CSK’s title-winning campaign in 2021.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) may not be in as deep a hole as CSK, but they’ve had their own battles, particularly at home. New Chandigarh hasn’t been a high-scoring venue, and PBKS have managed just one win in six matches there.
Unlike CSK, they split their home games across two venues, making the task of adapting even more demanding.
PBKS are coming off a tough home loss to Rajasthan Royals (RR), but they started the season with two commanding wins. Unlike CSK, their Indian core – led by Shreyas Iyer – is firing. Under new coach Ricky Ponting, there’s a clear belief in youth, with players like Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, and Nehal Wadhera getting consistent backing. It’s a stark contrast to CSK’s cautious approach with their young Indian talent.
CSK thrive on slower conditions, and the surface in New Chandigarh could play right into their hands. RR showcased how effective spin can be here, using all three of their spinners — Maheesh Theekshana, Kumar Kartikeya, and Wanindu Hasaranga — to great effect. Even Sandeep Sharma’s mix of slower balls and yorkers proved difficult to put away.
Sam Curran, who captained PBKS last year after Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out injured, is now back at CSK. Curran, signed by CSK for 2.4 crore at the mega auction, was the costliest overseas signing when PBKS signed him ahead of the 2023 auction for INR 18.5 crores.
Nathan Ellis, a specialist death bowler who played 16 games for PBKS between 2021 and 2024, is now part of CSK.
MS Dhoni hit one four and one six in his 26-ball knock, Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Capitals, IPL, Chennai, April 5, 2025
Team news and likely XII
Mukesh Choudhary, the left-arm pacer, looked off the pace and undercooked in his outing against Delhi Capitals (DC) three days ago. That could open the door for fast-bowling allrounder Anshul Kamboj to make his debut for CSK.
Likely XII: 1 Rachin Ravindra, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 MS Dhoni, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Anshul Kamboj, 10 Noor Ahmad, 11 Matheesha Pathirana, 12 Khaleel Ahmed
Suryansh Shedge has the potential to be a finisher, but at PBKS, he has so far had very little presence in each of the three games. He has batted just once and hasn’t bowled a single over. Perhaps there’s a case for them to consider Harpreet Brar, who offers batting depth in addition to his left-arm spin in these conditions.
Likely XII: 1 Priyansh Arya, 2 Prabhsimran Singh (wk), 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Nehal Wadhera, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Shashank Singh, 8 Harpreet Brar, 9 Marco Jansen, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Lockie Ferguson, 12 Yuzvendra Chahal
The Big Question
Should Ruturaj Gaikwad, curren
