'You're pegging your hopes on a player who's not...' - CSK's plans for MS Dhoni under fire after horrific IPL 2025 campaign

The five-time champions, Chennai Super Kings, went through a horrific and dismal run of form in the ongoing IPL 2025. They have already been knocked out of the tournament, after facing eight defeats while winning only two games in their 10 matches so far. There have been a lot of questions and criticism from the experts and the former cricketers on CSK management, especially their plans for MS Dhoni.

Meanwhile, the former West Indies cricketer Darren Ganga came up with a big question for CSK management and think tank, regarding their plans for the former India skipper who now plays only in the Indian Premier League in the entire year.

“You find yourself back at square one” – Dareen Ganga

Ganga also feels it is quite risky for CSK to count on a player like Dhoni, who is not active in any form of competitive cricket throughout the whole year, instead of an IPL season every year.

“Is that not a high risk for a team if you're planning for next season, you're pegging your hopes on a player who's not playing competitive cricket between IPL seasons,” said Ganga on ESPNcricinfo.

“Isn't that putting yourself at a disadvantage based on that player's fitness and availability to play an entire season? You find yourself back at square one, where you will be searching for a captain, a man who is not part of the entire process of strategic planning and direction for a season. So, I feel you're in that constant cycle of development and not progressing,” he added later.

Notably, CSK started their IPL 2025 campaign on a winning note with a 4-wicket win against MI, but then came their miserable downfall in the season, losing eight games and winning only one game in the next nine matches after the campaign opener.

Amidst all this, the multi-time IPL champions also went through a captaincy change in the middle of the tournament when Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out of the tournament due to injury. Once again, CSK’s reliance came back on the 43-year-old MS Dhoni, who led the team in the next few games but the fate of the team didn’t change.