‘What are the other ten players doing?’ – Suresh Raina hits out at CSK’s failed season after yet another home loss

Former India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Suresh Raina has slammed his former team for their potential early exit from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Chennai’s loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad meant that the team now has to win all their games and also depend on other results going their way. Raina was disappointed with some of the auction choices made by CSK last November. 

Speaking to Star Sports after the game, Raina said that there was a huge misconception about CSK and MS Dhoni when it came to the auctions. Raina was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying, “They always say MS Dhoni makes the final call. But to be very honest, I never attended any of the auctions. I was never a part of those discussions. I always talked about the players who were retained. MS might get a call about whether to go ahead with a player or not - but he's not that involved”

The 38-year-old also questioned CSK’s lack of planning for the future, saying, "CSK didn’t have a good auction as they didn’t try to sign Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant. Who will be CSK’s wicketkeeper after MS Dhoni? They don’t have anyone who can take his place. The batters are playing a lot of dot balls. In fact, CSK have played the most dot balls this season. Batters are unable to set the game in the middle overs because they are not getting any help from the top order.”

Suresh Raina questions CSK team after yet another loss at home 

Speaking on Star Sports at the end of the game, Raina said that Dhoni was giving his best despite his age. The former CSK star also emphasised that Dhoni was just playing for his fans and the brand that the team carries. “He's playing just for the brand, for his name, for the fandom - and still putting in the effort. At 43, he's doing wicketkeeping, captaining, carrying the entire team on his shoulders. But what are the other ten players doing?

“The core group handles the auction - you can imagine, Dhoni can’t have this type of auction. He would maybe name four or five players he wants, and out of them, a few would be retained. Even if an uncapped player is working hard, look at MS Dhoni being a 43-year-old captain, still giving everything.” Suresh Raina further added. 

When asked the future course of action, CSK’s former batting star said, “I think MS Dhoni will now sit down - he won't want anyone around him. He knows CSK didn't buy properly inthe  auction. He wouldn't have allowed it. He must have made up his mind”