Has MS Dhoni already given up on making IPL 2025 playoffs? CSK captain says 'important for us to get right combination for next year' – SportsTak

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UPDATED: Apr 21, 2025 10:49 IST

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) suffered their sixth loss from eight games and slipped to the bottom of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 points table with a net run rate inferior to the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). After the comprehensive nine-wicket loss to Mumbai Indians (MI) at Wankhede Stadium, MS Dhoni talked about not making too many changes to the squad if the playoffs spot is not in sight going further in the ongoing season. He aims to get a ‘secured 11’ for the IPL 2026 and make a strong comeback.

“What we need to realise is that we are successful because we play good cricket and at the same time when we are not playing good cricket what is important is not to get too emotional about it and at the same time you want to be practical. There have been instances, one of the seasons I think 2020 has not been great for us but we need to see whether we are playing the right form of cricket, whether we are applying ourselves. Those are the question marks we have got, few catches and that will help,” Dhoni said in the post-match presentation.
 
 
“Other than that we are just trying to plug in the holes, with all the games that are in front of us that we are supposed to win, we just take it one game at a time and if we lose a few, what will be important for us is to get the right combination for next year. You don’t want too many players getting changed, what will be important is to try and qualify, but if not get a secured 11 for next year and come back strong,” the 43-year-old added.    
 
 
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Against MI at Wankhede Stadium, CSK handed debut cap to 17-year-old local boy Ayush Mhatre. The youngster impressed the likes of legendary Sunil Gavaskar with his strokeplay. Mhatre scored 32 runs from 15 balls including four fours and two sixes before falling to Deepak Chahar.

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CSK have also given a couple of chances to 20-year-old Shaik Rasheed who has contributed with scores of 27 and 19. On the bench, CSK have youngsters Andre Siddarth C, Vansh Bedi and the recently recruited South African youngster Dewald Brevis who replaced an injured Gurjapneet Singh midway through the season. Brevis is likely to make his CSK debut in the upcoming matches. 

Also, Vijay Shankar and England all-rounder Jamie Overton are yet to prove their worth. In the upcoming matches, there can be a few changes in the team combination. Their next match is against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at home on April 25.

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