Five losses in a row, and gloomy skies seem to be following wherever Chennai Super Kings go this season in the IPL. Their captain and star batter injured, ruled out for the season. Their lowest ever total at their home fortress at Chepauk. A batting order that simply cannot get it going. Qualification isn’t out of the question, but it is beginning to look increasingly unlikely.
Can their trip to the Ekana Stadium, a match against the devastating Lucknow Super Giants, spark some sort of life into this unit? CSK’s batting has been their big weakness, as they strike at a fraction of the rate that the other teams are managing. There is no point in CSK sticking with combinations that aren’t working: if they want to come back into this tournament, big changes are needed. It might be time to rely on the youth.
The equation for Lucknow Super Giants is much simpler, given their fairly set unit throughout this tournament. The one change they might be hoping for is the return of Mitchell Marsh, who missed their win against Gujarat Titans due to personal reasons. It is a credit to LSG’s batting, and particularly to Nicholas Pooran being in the form of his life, that they didn’t miss Marsh too much.
Chennai, meanwhile, need a massive reshuffle in the batting. Their bench options are largely youngsters and for-the-future players, but it might be time to call up some of them. CSK is not a franchise that has historically bought in to promoting their youth, preferring experience instead, but there have been calls for players such as Shaik Rasheed and Vansh Bedi to be included in their plans.
{{/usCountry}}Chennai, meanwhile, need a massive reshuffle in the batting. Their bench options are largely youngsters and for-the-future players, but it might be time to call up some of them. CSK is not a franchise that has historically bought in to promoting their youth, preferring experience instead, but there have been calls for players such as Shaik Rasheed and Vansh Bedi to be included in their plans.
{{/usCountry}}CSK were also once again criticised for MS Dhoni’s late entry point in their loss against KKR, coming to bat when the innings was already all but over, and only after sacrificing their impact sub for an extra batter. CSK might once again turn to Sam Curran to boost their batting lower down the order, allowing their domestic talent to come in at the top.
The middle order remains fragile, but there is no reason for CSK to keep backing players who are relatives known quantities, and simply haven’t shown up thus far this season. It will be interesting to see if captain MS Dhoni backs the youth in his team, or if he sticks with his trusted lieutenants. But some sort of change is needed, and CSK fans will only grow even more exasperated if that doesn’t arrive.
LSG vs CSK IPL 2025 likely XIs
LSG likely XI: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant, Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Abdul Samad, Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Digvesh Rathi
CSK likely XI: Rachin Ravindra, Shaik Rasheed, Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, R Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesa Pathirana