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Chennai Super Kings find themselves in uncharted waters in IPL 2025, enduring their most difficult phase in the tournament’s history. With five consecutive losses, including a staggering three defeats at their fortress Chepauk, the MS Dhoni-led side face a must-win encounter against a confident Lucknow Super Giants on Monday.
Desperate for a turnaround, CSK have rung in two key changes. Shaik Rasheed replaces the underperforming Devon Conway, while Jamie Overton comes in for veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. For LSG, Mitchell Marsh returns to the XI, replacing Himmat Singh.
While CSK’s bowling unit has often laid the foundation, it’s their misfiring batting line-up that continues to concern the think tank. With Ruturaj Gaikwad sidelined due to injury, Chennai’s top order has looked even more fragile. The reliance on MS Dhoni to steer the ship has grown, but even his return to captaincy couldn’t reverse their fortunes in the previous game.
Playing away from Chennai might prove to be a blessing in disguise, as the team has notably struggled against spin at home. The absence of Gaikwad, their most consistent batter, makes their road to recovery steeper. Meanwhile, Rahul Tripathi, stepping in at No. 3, will be expected to shoulder significant responsibility under mounting pressure.
CSK have often been criticised for sticking with aging stars, and the current slump has only intensified those murmurs. The lack of firepower in their batting, a trademark of their glory days, is glaringly evident. Dhoni himself acknowledged post-match that even setting a modest target of 60 runs in the powerplay seems overly optimistic for the current line-up.
Openers Rachin Ravindra and Conway (now replaced) are technically sound but not known for aggressive starts, leaving the team on the back foot early. Power-hitting support for Shivam Dube is sorely lacking, and the only real candidate to step up is Dhoni. However, his constant shuffle down the order, even batting at No. 9 recently, limits his ability to influence the game with the bat.
CSK vs LSG: Full squads
Lucknow Super Giants: Rishabh Pant (c&wk), David Miller, Aiden Markram, Aryan Juyal (wk), Himmat Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Arshin Kulkarni, Ayush Badoni, Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan, Akash Deep, Manimaran Siddharth, Digvesh Rathi, Akash Singh, Shamar Joseph, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi.
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Matheesha Pathirana, Noor Ahmad, Ravichandran Ashwin, Devon Conway, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, Sam Curran, Shaik Rashid, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary, Deepak Hooda, Gurjanpreet Singh, Nathan Ellis, Jamie Overton, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishnan Ghosh, Shreyas Gopal, Vansh Bedi, Andre Siddarth
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