The Yellow brigade Chennai Super Kings (CSK), for the first time in the Indian Premier League‘s (IPL) history, are struggling hard to get their combinations right. Well, many might argue that the seasons in 2020 and 2022 were equally bad, but this season hits differently. CSK were one of the most dominant teams in the IPL, winning five titles in 15 years. They have two Champions League titles as well. However, the CSK empire is on the verge of crumbling, and nobody knows why.
Batters are taking the field with a lack of intent, no power-hitting strokes, and, most importantly, no partnerships being formed during the powerplays or middle overs. With Ruturaj Gaikwad’s absence due to an elbow fracture, the top order looks even weaker than before.
CSK have had off-seasons in the past as well, but this time, things have drastically worsened. Neither do they have a solid batting line-up, nor do they have quality bowlers who can defend any total posted on the board. Even MS Dhoni’s captaincy couldn’t save the team from collapsing in the previous game against KKR. Now, they are at the bottom of the points table with just one win in five games.
Looking ahead, CSK will clash against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 14 in Lucknow. This will be the last ray of hope for CSK because if they lose this match, their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs will unofficially vanish.
In this article, we’ll discuss a few points about what could happen if they are eliminated from the IPL 2025 edition.
Here is an analysis of CSK’s possible elimination from IPL 2025:
3. Second consecutive miss from playoff qualification
If Chennai Super Kings fail to qualify for the playoffs, this will be the first time in the history of the league that they have missed the playoffs in two consecutive years. The Super Kings have almost always qualified for the playoffs—and that’s the kind of dominance they have had in the league.
However, last time, they finished in fifth position and couldn’t qualify for the playoffs. It looks like they might end up at the bottom of the points table this time. That has never happened either. Under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, CSK’s playoff berth was always considered a given.
Also Read: What’s going wrong with Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2025?
2. Fourth time missing playoffs qualification
This will mark the fourth season of CSK’s absence from the IPL playoffs if they don’t qualify. Before this, they missed the playoff spot in 2020, 2022, and 2024. Apart from that, the team has always qualified for the playoffs. They have also played in ten finals and won five of them.
Under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, CSK failed to qualify only once—in 2020. In 2022, Ravindra Jadeja captained the side for half of the tournament, and then Dhoni had to retake the captaincy after Jadeja’s injury. This year, a similar incident occurred, where Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out of the tournament due to injury, and Dhoni is back.
1. MS Dhoni to miss IPL finals for two consecutive years
In the history of the IPL, MS Dhoni has never missed the IPL finals for two consecutive years. This is an interesting fact about one of the greatest captains in the history of the game. Even when CSK were banned and Dhoni played for RPS, they qualified for the finals in 2017, where they lost against MI by one run.
Hence, if CSK don’t make it to the playoffs, Dhoni will miss the IPL finals for the second consecutive time. Keeping everything in mind, the Men in Yellow will have to win their upcoming games and make a comeback in the tournament like never before.
