‘Important to do our basics right’ – CSK skipper MS Dhoni makes huge statement ahead of IPL 2025 game vs KKR

The 25th game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Sunday witnesses Chennai Super Kings (CSK) take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). MS Dhoni was greeted with a huge cheer as he begins life as Chennai Super Kings’ captain for the third time. Injury to Ruturaj Gaikwad meant that Dhoni was named as the captain for rest of the season. India’s legendary star also became the first ever uncapped player to be named the captain in the IPL. 

It was Ajinkya Rahane who won the toss and chose to bowl first as former CSK player Moeen Ali came in for Spencer Johnson. CSK on the other hand made two changes to their side as they drafted in Anshul Kamboj in place of Mukesh Choudhary while Rahul Tripathi replaced Ruturaj Gaikwad. 

Speaking to Ravi Shastri at the toss, Dhoni was asked about Gaikwad’s fitness update. The 43-year-old said “He has fractured something on his elbow, so he is ruled out of the tournament. He is a very authentic batter, someone who looks to time the ball well. So yeah, he will be a big miss.”

CSK aims for change in fortunes under MSD 

During the course of his chat with Ravi Shastri during the toss, Dhoni was asked what had gone wrong in the earlier games. CSK skipper replied “Quite a few occasions where we tried to chase it down and what we realised is that the wicket slows down a bit, so if you don't get a good start then the middle order comes under pressure.”

The former Indian skipper also said that “It is important now, every game is important. We have lost too many matches and now it is important to do the basics right - have dot balls, take our catches. A couple of games we lost by big margins, but otherwise it was about the small things - about one over going for 20 runs. Our batters are more authentic as batters, they won't slog everything.”

KKR skipper Rahane while speaking at the toss said “We'll bowl first. There were a lot of positives from the last game. We as a team played really well. It is about improving each game. (On the pitch) This looks like a good wicket, won't change much. We are batting deep, so that's why we look to bowl first and chase things down.”