3 players losing chances because MS Dhoni is still playing

The legendary MS Dhoni has yet to put in a match-winning performance for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2025). The Men in Yellow have had a disastrous start to their campaign, losing four out of their first five matches. Time is of the essence for the five-time champions as they need to return to winning ways soon. The race to the playoffs is heating up, and the teams at the bottom half of the table will want to turn things around as the tournament nears the halfway point.

The 43-year-old Dhoni has played five innings in IPL 2025. He has scored 103 runs at an average of 51.50 and a strike rate of 153.74. While these numbers look impressive, they have not helped CSK in any major way. Not even one run has come in a winning cause so far for the iconic wicketkeeper-batter. Since IPL 2023, Dhoni averages a staggering 74.33 from eight innings when CSK loses while chasing. However, in successful run-chases, he is averaging just 3 from four innings.

The most disheartening performance from Dhoni came in CSK's home game against Delhi Capitals (DC). Chasing an 184-run target, Dhoni walked out to bat when the score was 74/5 in the 11th over. He and Vijay Shankar added an unbeaten 84-run partnership off 57 balls as CSK lost by 25 runs. The former CSK captain did not show any intent to win the match as he just made 30* off 26 balls. While he has been amazing behind the stumps, the same cannot be said about his batting performances. In the last game against Punjab, he scored 27 off just 12 balls. However, he was dropped on 15 by Yash Thakur.

Three players whose slots are being wasted by Dhoni:

3. Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja has batted at No. 7 in the first two games and at No. 6 in the next three encounters. The talismanic all-rounder walked out to bat after Dhoni in the last game against Punjab Kings. In all the other matches, Jadeja batted ahead of Dhoni.

Chennai Super Kings should give the 36-year-old a fixed spot in the batting order. The Saurashtra cricketer is an experienced finisher himself, and he can take CSK home from difficult situations.