Follow UsFormer Chennai Super Kings (CSK) players Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh have questioned CSK’s Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction strategy.
The Men in Yellow, who have won the IPL five times, are currently at the bottom of the points table, having lost six of their eight encounters this season.
Chennai need to win all their remaining six games if they want to qualify for the playoffs, but it’s unlikely to happen considering they don’t have too many match-winners in their squad.
"I feel that somewhere the auction was not done well by the coach, the management. There were so many talented players in the auction, so many young players – like Priyansh Arya, debuted and scored a century," Raina said on Star Sports.
"You take so much money for selection, you left out Rishabh Pant, left out Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul. If you look at other teams, they play such attacking games. I have never seen CSK struggle this much."
Meanwhile, Harbhajan added: "This team has been a very big team. But when they went to the auction, like you mentioned the big names – they did not take Rishabh, did not take KL Rahul.
"Among the youth selected, we can't see anyone who could give game-changing performances."
CSK are also without their regular skipper and best batter Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was ruled out of the tournament because of an elbow injury. In his absence, MS Dhoni is leading the CSK unit.