One of the most successful teams in the IPL's eighteen-year history, the Chennai Super Kings, saw a significant decline in performance during the 2025 season. At Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium, CSK defeated the Mumbai Indians handily to start the season. But as the competition went on, the team began to deteriorate and ended up at the bottom of the standings with only four victories from 14 games. Additionally, CSK finished with the wooden spoon for the first time this season and became the first team to be eliminated from the playoff race.
The poor performance of CSK cast doubt on the captaincy of MS Dhoni, who took over the team halfway through this season following Ruturaj Gaikwad's elbow injury. In addition to being a poor captain, Dhoni frequently failed to pull CSK across the finish line with his strike-rate not up to the mark.
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Despite the underwhelming show, there have been voices backing Dhoni and former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan weighing-in on the topic stated that the CSK veteran should be "rated" based on the players he had at his dispense.
"A captain is as good as the team he gets; if I give the Zimbabwe team to Clive Lloyd, he won't be good either. Dhoni's captaincy should be rated based on the team he got; when he had the team in the past, we all know what he did. In my opinion, captaincy at times is overrated," Wassan said on the latest episode of the Bails and Banter Show on OTTPlay.
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Regarding Dhoni and his future, a lot has been stated. The wicketkeeper-batter himself spoke about it earlier and on Sunday too he maintained the suspense about his future in the competition. "I have a few months to decide; I will see how the body holds up," said Dhoni on retirement.
Do not count out a return in the IPL 2026, considering the reception Dhoni left with last night. Although he could have had the perfect farewell after lifting the IPL title as a captain in 2023, Dhoni came back next season with the intention of performing for his loyal fans. His aspirations to end on a high note were derailed when CSK missed the playoffs by a slim margin. The less said about CSK this year, the better.
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However, Wassan believes that Dhoni's devotion to his fans is what makes him keep coming back. Dhoni is aware that he has nothing to prove and is no longer the destructive force he once was. Wassan feels Dhoni will undoubtedly play next season even if he is at his peak fitness or not unless the management takes some extremely dramatic steps.
"Dhoni is CSK, and CSK is Dhoni. CSK could have been doing good or not alongside Dhoni, but he is still recovering money for the franchise. Dhoni knows that his best days are gone, but he is still playing and facing the criticism. It shows how much attached he is to the franchise. Otherwise, why would someone who has achieved everything put himself in this situation? And I believe he would be up next year as well, despite not being at his 100 percent," said Wassan.
