Where they concluded their cycle
2022: ninth; 2023: winners; 2024: fifth
A quick look at the season
Arriving with nostalgic long locks and one ailing knee, MS Dhoni had promised to stay for one more season for the benefit of CSK fans. He continued to make spectacular, theatrical entrances and swing his bat around to unleash unbridled hysteria across the nation. But outside of the fervent fan base, CSK struggled with injuries, absences, and strange living circumstances. Although they lost five of the seven games they played there, traveling was difficult. As the season progressed, Ajinkya Rahane’s abilities diminished, Matheesha Pathirana’s injuries hindered him, Mustafizur Rahman was forced to withdraw after nine games, and the batting prowess of 2023 vanished. Even with their little resources, CSK managed to hang on to the season and their destiny until the very end, when they painfully lost to RCB. Positively, the change in captaincy went much more smoothly than their disastrous attempt two years prior.
Instagram Moment: When a confident 24-year-old Dhoni smashed a six over an extra cover against Pakistan at the same stadium, it seemed as though 19 years had passed.
Season’s best player is Tushar Deshpande. The pacer took 17 wickets, improved his economy rate from the concerning 9.92 of the previous season, and was the only reliable member of CSK’s bowling attack, which was frequently derailed by absences and injuries. In the league stage of this season, only three bowlers—Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, and Mohammed Siraj—bowled more dot balls than his total of 118.
The first of their two away victories, at the Mumbai Indians’ stadium, is the one that will stick in my memory the most. After a dismal PowerPlay, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shivam Dube helped the side rally, and Dhoni’s four-ball 20* in the final over from Hardik Pandya gave them the victory margin despite Rohit Sharma’s century. The Wankhede crowd witnessed a display of six-hitting and Matheesha Pathirana’s destructive influence on the game, much to what MI’s former bowling coach did.
Choosing CSK’s base-price pick Mustafizur Rahman gave the holders a left-armer who could bowl at both ends of the innings, which proved to be a wise move. In a few games, CSK even effectively unleashed him in combination with Matheesha Pathirana. CSK made an early move to reward their faith in a bowler who took just one wicket from 42 deliveries in the entire previous season. After taking four wickets in his opening match against the RCB at Chepauk, he finished with 14 in just nine innings.
An ineffective move Michael Hussey waxed poetic early in the season about Rachin Ravindra picking up CSK’s top batting style rapidly, but by season’s end the New Zealander was unable to fill the large shoes left by Devon Conway, who was sidelined for the whole season due to injury. Ravindra could not even come close to making the kind of impact that Conway had with 672 runs last season between his first two excellent performances and his final one against RCB on May 18. In ten games, Ravindra scored 222 runs in total.
The star of this cycle is Ruturaj Gaikwad, the Dhoni crown heir. His growth since the 2021 season has been so great that CSK gave him the keys this year, both at bat and as a potentially cunning tactician. By his high standards, he had a mediocre start to the cycle in 2022 (368 runs at an SR of 126.46). However, in 2023, he played strongly at the top of the order with Conway, hitting 590 runs at a strike rate of 147.50 to help CSK win the title. His game was unaffected by having to replace Dhoni this season. He got off to a poor start, but his batting quickly started to have an impact on games. Despite lacking Conway as an opening partner for much of the season, Gaikwad still finished with 583 runs at a strike average of 141.16.
Should they manage to hold onto just three players until the following cycle*
Gaikwad ought to be at the top of the retention list because he is the team’s captain and best batter. Matheesha Pathirana ought to be on this list as well, having used his CSK platform to rise to prominence and establish himself as one of the league’s top death-bowling advocates during the last two seasons. If Dhoni decides to retire, Ravindra Jadeja, who provides experience in his absence, and Shivam Dube, who the team has skillfully shaped into a spin-hitting specialist, might be vying for the third pick.
*The IPL General Council has not yet finalized the retention/RTM guidelines before to the super auction. This is merely an example from theory.
