A night of heartbreak at Chepauk on Friday left Chennai Super Kings fans disappointed, but for former India cricketer Mohammed Kaif, it raised deeper questions about the direction of the franchise – and the future of its most iconic player. Following CSK’s crushing eight-wicket defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday, Kaif took to X (formerly Twitter) to voice his concerns about the team’s stagnating performances and MS Dhoni's future with the franchise.
In a sharply-worded post, he wrote: “Is this Dhoni’s last season? The way CSK’s season is going, is the time right for a change? Last question: Why give a slow pitch at home when the rivals have spinners like Narine and Varun?”
The statement came after CSK, captained by MS Dhoni in the absence of Ruturaj Gaikwad, were restricted to just 103/9 – their lowest total ever at Chepauk and the lowest by any side in this year’s IPL. At a venue that was once a fortress for CSK since the league's inception, Friday's showing felt more like a fading echo of past glory.
CSK's poor batting performance
{{/usCountry}}The statement came after CSK, captained by MS Dhoni in the absence of Ruturaj Gaikwad, were restricted to just 103/9 – their lowest total ever at Chepauk and the lowest by any side in this year’s IPL. At a venue that was once a fortress for CSK since the league's inception, Friday's showing felt more like a fading echo of past glory.
CSK's poor batting performance
{{/usCountry}}Despite a strong start from Devon Conway, who hit two crisp boundaries off Vaibhav Arora, CSK never found the rhythm. Moeen Ali’s tight spell, which included a wicket-maiden to remove Conway, triggered the collapse. Rachin Ravindra fell soon after, and though Vijay Shankar was handed a couple of lifelines, he couldn’t convert his fortune into a game-changing innings.
The slide continued with Tripathi bowled by Moeen, and the lower order offered little resistance. It took Shivam Dube's unbeaten 31 to save CSK the embarrassment of recording their lowest-ever IPL total. Battling muscle discomfort in his leg, Dube still managed to swing CSK past 100 with a couple of gutsy hits in the death overs.
The Chepauk crowd, always loyal to their ‘Thala’, roared when Dhoni walked out – but their hopes were short-lived. The 42-year-old scored just 1 off 4 before falling LBW to Sunil Narine in the 16th over, and though he reviewed the call, the decision stood.
Knight Riders chased the target down in just 10.1 overs, with Sunil Narine (44 off 18 balls) top-scoring for the side.