MS Dhoni, the heartbeat of Chennai Super Kings, spoke about the franchise’s poor fortune and admitted that CSK are “slightly worried” about their batting ahead of the next IPL season.
Stating that the return of Ruturaj Gaikwad will bolster CSK in the next edition of the IPL, Dhoni maintained that the top-order batter will provide the necessary balance after pulling out mid-way through the previous season with an elbow injury.
“We are slightly worried about our batting order. But I think our batting order is quite sorted out now. Rutu (Gaikwad) will be coming back. He got injured. But he will be coming back. So, we are quite sorted now,” said Dhoni during a private function here, indicating that the Super Kings will retain the services of Gaikwad.
Dhoni also said that the team will try to further strengthen the unit through the mini-auction later this year.
“I won’t say we (CSK) slacked off (in IPL 2025). But there were certain holes that we needed to plug in. A small auction is coming in December. Some loopholes are there, and we will try to plug those in,” he added.
Dhoni admitted that the Super Kings have been well below-par over the last two seasons, but said it was important for the team to identify those grey areas.
“Yes, the last couple of years have not been good for us. We have not been up to the mark. But what is important is for you to see the learnings. Yes, you had a bad season. But what went wrong? And that was the question for us last year also.
“We were like, okay, there are some shortcomings. But first we needed to exactly figure out what were the shortcomings and then look at solutions,” he noted.
Thanking CSK fans for their support, he said, “I feel more often than not we have been able to figure out what exactly went wrong. In sports, you know you can have a very good time and at the same time there will be periods when you won’t be performing well. In CSK, more often than not, we are on the higher side.
“So, we do talk about the processes. But at the same time we do want the result to come to our side. Last year it (result) wasn’t there. But looking ahead, we will try to sort out most of the things and we will hopefully be at our best,” he explained.