"Not Justifiable": MS Dhoni Slams CSK Batters After Crushing Defeat Against SRH
April 26, 2025: Chennai:
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni minced no words after his team’s five-wicket defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), openly criticizing the batters for their repeated failures in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season.
In a must-win encounter, CSK made strategic changes, bringing in Dewald Brevis and Deepak Hooda while dropping Rachin Ravindra. However, the new-look lineup failed to deliver, losing Shaik Rasheed on the very first ball of the match and struggling throughout the innings.
At the post-match presentation, Dhoni was blunt:
“We kept losing wickets early. 155 was not a justifiable score. The pitch was slightly better in the first innings — yes, it became a bit two-paced after 8-10 overs, but nothing extraordinary. We were at least 15-20 runs short,” Dhoni said.
While young debutant Dewald Brevis showed promise with a rapid 42 off 25 balls, the rest of the batting lineup failed to build momentum, once again exposing CSK’s vulnerability in the middle overs.
Praising Brevis, Dhoni added,
“He batted really well. In the middle order, where we have consistently struggled against spin, you need either batsmanship to pick gaps or the ability to hit in your area. That’s where we’ve been lacking.”
Despite the CSK spinners delivering a spirited defense, Dhoni stressed that unless the batters step up, the team’s playoff hopes look bleak.
“In tournaments like this, if one or two players are underperforming, you can manage. But when four or more aren’t delivering, you have no choice but to make changes. You can’t keep going without putting enough runs on the board,” he said.
Dhoni emphasized that while 180-200 runs might not always be necessary, assessing the conditions and posting a competitive total was now non-negotiable in modern T20 cricket.
With the loss pushing CSK closer to elimination, Dhoni’s words may signal bigger shake-ups ahead for the struggling franchise.
MS Dhoni, CSK, Chennai Super Kings, IPL 2025, CSK vs SRH, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Dewald Brevis, Indian Premier League, Cricket News, CSK Batting Failure, Dhoni Criticism
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