Chennai Super Kings endured a crushing five-wicket defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad at Chepauk on April 25, their seventh loss in nine games and fourth straight home reverse, as they further cemented their bottom spot in the Indian Premier League standings.
Head coach Stephen Fleming didn’t mince words about what set CSK on this downward spiral: their auction strategy.
“It is hard to say we got it completely right with the performances that we have had,” Fleming said after watching his side’s batting line-up falter once again.
He added, “Other teams have got better and that is the point of the auction. But we just haven’t been able to get it right,” and conceded, “It is also not perfect science. The auction is a very fluid beast… A couple of key injuries, just a bit of a lack of form. And we have just struggled really to nail a gameplan”.
CSK’s auction misfires: New signings fail to fire
What looked like a bold rebuild at the IPL 2025 auction has backfired spectacularly for the 5-time champions.
The franchise went all out to get their marquee signings — Rahul Tripathi ( ₹3.4 Cr), Deepak Hooda ( ₹1.7 Cr), Sam Curran ( ₹2.4 Cr) and R Ashwin ( ₹9.75 Cr) — but none have delivered so far in IPL 2025:
Rahul Tripathi: 5 matches, 55 runs, average 11.00, strike rate 96.49
Deepak Hooda: 4 matches, 29 runs, average 7.25, strike rate 74.36
Sam Curran: 3 matches, 21 runs, average 7.00, strike rate 65.62
Ravichandran Ashwin: 7 matches, 5 wickets, economy 9.29, average around 52.00, best figures 2/48
CSK’s collective failures were on full display against SRH at the MA Chidambaram Stadium as they suffered another batting collapse. The hosts were bundled out for 154 despite Dewald Brevis’s fighting 42 after being put in to bat.
Fellow strugglers SRH, who were 9th in the IPL standings prior to Friday’s match, capitalised through Abhishek Sharma (44) and Kamindu Mendis (32*), as they easily knocked off 155/5 in 18.4 overs to seal the win.
Fleming takes responsibility for CSK’s struggles
Fleming refused to shy away from accountability. “So you take responsibility from the top down and then you just ask a little more of the players,” he said, acknowledging the need for urgent “soul-searching” and admitting, “It certainly starts with me at the top, 100%”.
With four matches remaining, CSK’s season seems all but over.
Next up, Chennai will host Punjab Kings at Chepauk on Wednesday, April 30 — a fixture that now represents a must-win if CSK are to keep their playoff aspirations alive.
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