What could have been one of the greatest comeback stories in the history of the Indian Premier League, making it to the qualifiers despite losing their opening three matches, has now been pushed to next season as the five-time champions Chennai Super Kings fell short against the high-flying Sunrisers Hyderabad at the iconic M. A. Chidambaram Stadium on May 18.
The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side once again failed to capitalise in a must-win clash that could have lifted them up the table and replaced the struggling Punjab Kings, who remarkably still sit 4th despite six consecutive defeats. The setback followed another missed opportunity in their previous outing, where CSK failed to cross the finish line against an underwhelming Lucknow Super Giants side placed at the bottom of the table.
Gaikwad opted to bat first after winning the toss against SRH, and while the decision initially favoured CSK, things did not go according to plan, as the batting unit once again struggled to stay long enough at the crease and build meaningful partnerships. However, valuable contributions from Dewald Brevis, who top-scored for CSK with 44 runs, and Kartik Sharma’s blistering 32 helped the hosts post a competitive total of 180 on what appeared to be a slow surface at Chepauk.
Despite the best efforts from the bowling unit to take the match deep and defend the total, CSK eventually fell short against the brilliance of Ishan Kishan, who scored 70, and Heinrich Klaasen’s crucial 47, as SRH sealed qualification with a 5-wicket win and an over to spare, exactly the kind of composed batting effort CSK were missing on the day.
Amid the defeat and another potential failure to qualify, the spotlight turned towards CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was called out by highly successful CSK head coach Stephen Fleming to “do more” post loss to SRH. The statement comes as Gaikwad’s individual performances have taken a hit this season. Alongside his captaincy duties, the skipper has struggled to lead the young batting unit consistently, with heavy reliance placed on opener Sanju Samson, who has carried the side for most of the campaign.
“I think Ruturaj can do more. He’s done more in the past. He’s been a fine player at the top. He hasn’t produced the quantity of runs and the pace of runs this season that he’s done in his career. And that’s something that he will address,” Fleming said at the post-match press conference.
As pointed out by Fleming, the skipper’s contributions have certainly dipped this year, with Gaikwad managing just 321 runs at an average of around 30. His strike rate, which was close to 150 in previous campaigns, has dropped to nearly 120 this season, an underwhelming return in modern T20 cricket where explosive openers like Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi are setting the tone from the outset. Gaikwad’s latest knock of 15 off 21 balls against SRH once again reflected his struggles this season.
He is currently enduring one of his most underwhelming campaigns with the bat since rising to prominence in the CSK side during the memorable 2021 season, where he scored 635 runs. After taking over the captaincy from CSK legend MS Dhoni ahead of the 2024 season, Gaikwad enjoyed an impressive debut year as captain with 583 runs while leading from the front, something that has clearly been missing this year.
Fleming also highlighted that this season has been Gaikwad’s first full test in the CSK setup after missing most of last season due to a fractured arm.
“This year, at least, he was here the whole time. Last year, he wasn’t here at all. So it would be unfair to judge that. But yeah, there’s been a lot of work done behind the scenes as we learn about this group of players,” Fleming added.
Gaikwad knew that taking over the captaincy from MS Dhoni would come with its own challenges, given CSK’s success under the former skipper. This will now be the third straight season CSK have missed out on qualification under his leadership. However, for a young captain like Gaikwad, feeling the backing of the franchise remains important, something CSK have consistently shown over the past three years. Now, it is up to him to define his captaincy stint with a strong comeback next season alongside a squad that has grown through this difficult campaign with him.