Following two straight defeats, including a narrow loss to Rajasthan Royals, CSK faces heat over poor team selection and lack of batting firepower as they slip to 7th on the IPL points table.
March 31, 2025: Chennai Super Kings’ sluggish start to IPL 2025 has sparked strong criticism from fans and experts alike, with former India opener Aakash Chopra taking aim at their inconsistent team selection and underwhelming batting line-up.
After losing their second consecutive match — a tight six-run defeat to Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati — CSK now sits 7th on the points table with two losses in three games. Their most recent defeat once again exposed a lack of firepower in the middle order, especially when chasing totals above 180.
Also Read: IPL 2025: Varun Chakravarthy Talks About His Strong Bond With Sunil Narine
The CSK think tank made two key changes after their previous loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, dropping Sam Curran and Deepak Hooda in favor of Jamie Overton and Vijay Shankar. But the reshuffle failed to yield results.
Overton, playing in place of Curran, bowled just 2 overs, conceding 30 runs, and scored an unbeaten 11 off 4 balls. Vijay Shankar contributed a modest 9 runs in the 183-run chase. MS Dhoni, promoted to No. 7, could only manage 16 off 11 balls before falling on the first ball of the final over.
Also Read: IPL 2025: MI vs KKR – Who Will Prevail at Wankhede in This High-Stakes Clash?
Aakash Chopra Pulls No Punches
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra minced no words:
“CSK, I do not like your playing XI one bit. You are making changes, but change is not necessarily progress. You dropped Sam Curran and played Jamie Overton, but bowled him for just two overs.”
He pointed out that despite the tweaks, CSK’s real issue — their brittle batting order — remains unaddressed.
“The truth is that you need to address the problem in your batting. It is not getting addressed. It once again came to the fore,” Chopra added.
He also questioned the decision to back Overton despite his expensive spell in the powerplay.
“Why are you playing Overton? You shouldn’t play him.”
Bowling Positives – But Not Enough
While CSK’s bowling did show some promise with Pathirana and Khaleel Ahmed delivering strong spells, it wasn’t enough to offset the damage done early by Overton.
With only one win in three games and a vulnerable-looking middle order, CSK will need to reassess both strategy and selection before their next outing — or risk falling behind in a tournament where momentum is everything.
Tags:
CSK Playing XI, Aakash Chopra CSK criticism, IPL 2025 news, Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals, Jamie Overton, Sam Curran CSK, MS Dhoni batting, CSK team selection, IPL 2025 CSK performance, CSK batting problems, IPL points table, Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar, IPL expert analysis