What can CSK do to rise from rock bottom next season?

At around 8.45pm on April 11, there were unprecedented scenes at Chepauk.

As MS Dhoni walked out to bat at No. 9, with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) 72 for 7 in the 15th over against Kolkata Knight Riders, several fans began to leave the stadium. CSK's devoted followers have sworn by their Thala but those exiting had realised that even he couldn't save this team this season. Having taken over the captaincy after five games in in IPL 2025, the magnitude of the miracle required was beyond his ageing capabilities.

At around 10.30 pm, Fortress Chepauk crumbled. It was the first time CSK had lost three consecutive home games. They went on to lose their next two in Chennai as well, and for the first time, CSK will finish last in an IPL season.

After finishing fifth last year, CSK have also failed to make the playoffs in two consecutive seasons for the first time - an indicator that their trusted methods, with which they have won five titles, may now be outdated in the IPL.

Their problems began with squad formation. Their bets on old CSK players - like Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra - didn't come off. Their punts on buying players who had struggled for other franchises in recent seasons - Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar and Rahul Tripathi - fell flat too. There was no revival for them like Robin Uthappa, Ajinkya Rahane and Shivam Dube had enjoyed at CSK.

They splurged INR 9.75 crore for 38-year old R Ashwin, who played for CSK last in 2015, at a time when other teams are barely picking players whose primary skill is offspin. That reunion hasn't been productive either: seven wickets in nine matches with an economy rate of 9.12, his highest in an IPL season.

Barely a month into the season, the first four players CSK had bought at the mega auction for a total of INR 23.4 crore last November - Conway, Tripathi, Ashwin and Rachin - were all on the bench.

After realising that CSK things weren't working for them this season, they did some un-CSK things. Like cycling through 22 players, the most they have used in an IPL season since 2010; promoting Ravindra Jadeja to No.4 though his struggles against spin is well known; pushing Shivam Dube down the order and exposing him to high pace when his strength is hitting spin; and handing the new ball to Jamie Overton, who is a middle-and-death overs specialist for England and various franchises around the world.

The spate of defeats and the weakness of their bench forced CSK to blood young, inexperienced players, something they rarely do. Two of their mid-season replacements, Dewald Brevis and 17-year old Ayush Mhatre, their youngest player ever, have been successful and could be part of CSK's plans for 2026.

But with or without Brevis and Mhatre, the batting looks fragile and uncompetitive, lagging far behind in terms of explosiveness or inventiveness. Against RCB in Bengaluru, CSK needed 35 off 18 balls, but Jadeja and Dhoni were unable to finish a game they would have won more often than not a few years ago. Their inability to exploit scoring areas behind the wicket was amplified as Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yash Dayal shackled them with several full tosses.

Which brings us to one of the biggest talking points of CSK's season. Dhoni, who will turn 44 in July, is functioning at reduced capacity because of his knees. He can't play long innings any more, and in this age of match-ups teams simply throw the ball to a spinner when he walks in. Rajasthan Royals even gave part-time offspinner Riyan Parag the 16th over because Dhoni was batting.

Since IPL 2020, Dhoni has a strike rate of 95.88 against spin - the lowest among batters who have faced 250 balls of spin in this period. CSK's other problem is that Jadeja is third on this list with a strike rate of 101.68 against spin, making it too simple for opponents to slow them down when these two are in the middle. Sometimes they don't even look as if they are trying to attack spin.

Jadeja has had problems with his left-arm spin too. He has trouble against left-handers and doesn't usually bowl in the powerplay; these limitations have resulted in him completing his four-over quota only once in 13 matches. Jadeja has eight wickets with an economy of 8.81 and 280 runs at a strike rate of 137.25 this season.

Jadeja and Dhoni, retained for INR 18 crore and 4 crore respectively, don't play any T20 cricket between IPL seasons. Dhoni's future remains unclear but if he wants to play IPL 2026, can CSK afford to keep both of them?

Yes, according to former SRH and PBKS coach Tom Moody who has vast experience in constructing and reconstructing T20 teams around the world, and especially if Dube rediscovers his explosive power and CSK bring in an overseas power-hitter.

"Well, Dube has to fire and he, historically, has been a brilliant finisher for them," Moody said on ESPNcricinfo's TimeOut show. "His form has been a concern, along with obviously the clock ticking on Dhoni's career. It doesn't get easier when you're older. It gets harder and harder.

"Jadeja has never ever been a strong finisher. He's a very fine player, but do you see him as a player with 15 or 20 balls to go, as your impact player? Probably not. Therefore, you go back to the auction and look at 'did we get it wrong' or maybe we needed to get an overseas finisher to support what we already have."

While CSK's head coach Stephen Fleming has kept emphasising the importance of experience, they may not have many options to pick from at the next mini-auction. And the really good players will be in high demand and go for hefty prices.

"If you're needing to release funds, the obvious one would be Ashwin because I think it was about 10 crore," Moody said. "That's a lot of money for someone that's not guaranteed a place in the XI. So, that's going to be a hard conversation that the management has to have with him.

"I think they need more of a batting powerhouse at No.5 or 6. They've got enough allrounders in their set-up - Rachin, Sam Curran, Jadeja. To me, they need a specialist impact player that can take games away a bit like your Livingstone, Tim David and Hetmyer - these types of players they have to find and target. They may do that through trade. You never know someone like Ashwin might find himself traded."

The return of Ruturaj Gaikwad, whose IPL 2025 was cut short by injury, may remedy some top-order issues but the CSK management has been working behind the scenes on scouting and developing new talent. Other teams have already got tremendous value from less-known players - Shashank Singh, Ashutosh Sharma, Priyansh Arya, Digvesh Rathi to name just a few - plucked out of various T20 leagues around the country.

The fact remains, though, that a long and successful era may have run its course, and that rebuilding a team in the second season after a mega-auction will pose challenges. Tough questions and decisions await CSK, and it could begin with Dhoni and his knees.