CRICKET POLL

It's been a season to forget for MS Dhoni, both personally and from Chennai Super Kings' perspective. For such a successful captain and franchise, 2025 has been ruthless. The win over KKR was only CSK's third of the season from 12 games, and as things stand, they remain at the bottom of the table. While Dhoni has scored more runs than he did in 2023 and 2024, there is more to it. The veteran has been a pale shadow of his usual self this year, tied down by spin and also not being at his best against pace.

Wednesday's game against KKR saw Dhoni staying all the way through, as he played second fiddle to Shivam Dube. Once the left-hander perished, the CSK captain calmly smashed a six off the first ball of the 20th over to put the visitors en route to victory. At the post-match presentation ceremony, Dhoni was his usual eloquent self and gave the predictable retirement question, an open ending.

However, he expressed his gratitude for the Eden Gardens crowd, which was profound in expressing their love for him.

"That's the love and affection I have got throughout, not to forget, I'm 43 and I have played for a long time," said Dhoni. "They don't know when it will be my last year, it is a fact that I play only two months a year. This IPL gets over, then I have to work for the next 6-8 months to see if my body is able to take this kind of pressure. Nothing to decide as of now, but the love and affection I get everywhere is excellent."

Known for their consistency in selection and old-school approach across all facets, Super Kings have chopped and changed a lot this season. Understandably, they have been forced into it with a plethora of losses and a lack of form in the side. The KKR game saw yet another CSK debutant, Urvil Patel, as the five-time champions continue to search for the blueprint, looking ahead to the coming seasons. Dhoni was candid in admitting his team's shortcomings this year.

"It is only the third game we have won. It is good to be on the winning side. Quite a few things have not gone our way. What is important is to be practical. Identify what has gone wrong. We have 25 players who can fill and I was focusing on that. We want answers for the next year, which batter can slot in where and which bowler can bowl where, according to the conditions"

The win against KKR was set up by a blitz from one of their latest entrants, Dewald Brevis, as the South African took the Knight Riders' fast bowlers to the cleaners. He even struck a couple of boundaries against Sunil Narine, including a six. Right from his debut against SRH, Brevis has added a lot of muscle to CSK's middle-overs batting with his belligerent approach and range of strokes. Dhoni underlined the 22-year-old's knock, which helped the others to handle KKR's potent spin attack with minimal risk.

"You have to keep their spinners out of the game. Thanks to Brevis, he gave us that luxury."

Dhoni's partnership with Dube produced 43 runs, and while it took 39 balls, the pair did exactly what the match situation demanded. From the highs of 2023 and 2024, this season has been a rude awakening for Dube, but his innings showed why CSK have stood by him. When quizzed about what the chat was with the left-hander, Dhoni revealed that the tactics were simple.

"Don't give wickets to Sunil and Varun, then we will see. This is not a big ground, I said take it slightly to the end, not to forget, I was the last batter, that was the thinking. He played calculated shots, and he hit two sixes, and that brings the rate down"

Even as their disappointing 2025 season is nearing its end, there are signs of positivity for the Super Kings to look at. For a side that's struggled with their batting, CSK have registered scores of 190, 211 and 183 in their last three games. The first of those games, against PBKS, was a game where they could have even gotten past the 200-run mark while their approach in the chase against RCB was the best CSK had batted this season. Against KKR, the jinx of a 180-plus chase was broken after six years.

With a lot of youngsters in the mix and new fresh signings, CSK are quietly building towards the future. Dhoni underlined the importance of execution from a batter's point of view and revealed what the management has been looking at the most in the rookie players.

"Hardly anyone was scoring runs, yes, you will get out sometimes. But you back yourself and play the shots you feel you can do. These are the players who are part of the squad now. You may see them in the nets, in the practice games, give them a chance and see how they react. You don't look at the cricketing aspect or the technique but their mental strength and game awareness"