Chennai Super Kings started IPL 2026 with three straight defeats, then rode Sanju Samson’s brilliance to stage a comeback, only to fade out as the tournament progressed.
They ended the season with six wins and eight defeats from their 14 games. The five-time champions were bothered by injuries right through, first to Mahendra Singh Dhoni and then to seam-bowling all-rounders Jamie Overton and Ramakrishna Ghosh, which upset their momentum.
Nathan Ellis, expected to be their pace spearhead, was ruled out with a hamstring injury before the season started. Ayush Mhatre also had to return midway, injured.
“I think that’s an important part of winning an IPL that you get your balance right, and you have a side that can carry itself through, and your changes are made a long way before the game... not because someone’s out of form but because you’re moving into a particular condition,” bowling coach Eric Simons said at a news conference. “So we know ourselves a lot better as a unit, and we also know a lot of the individuals better as to what they can and can’t do.”
The batting suffered as none in the top-order were consistent, except for
Samson, who was the top-scorer with 477 in 14 matches at a strike-rate of 165.62, to an extent.
The team management needs to decide if captaincy is increasingly becoming a burden on Ruturaj Gaikwad who has failed to be in his elements this season. Shivam Dube too failed to live up to his promise.
The bowling suffered the most with only spinners Noor Ahmad and Akeal Hosein effective. Anshul Kamboj was the most successful with 21 wickets though he was hammered in their last match against Gujarat Titans
when he went for 56 runs in his four overs.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s inability to play a single match this season also left them in bad shape. His experience on the field and as a finisher is always sought after. It brought to an end Dhoni’s record of featuring in every IPL since 2008.
Gaikwad didn’t have a clue on Dhoni’s plans for the next season.
“Obviously you will get to know it next year itself. Even I’ll get to know it next year itself. Obviously, it’s a hard, hard miss for us definitely. He’s someone who can really change the game, can really change the momentum just by staying at the crease. So, he’s someone, definitely we missed a lot this season. But, I mean, we never know about next season,” Gaikwad said.
The Super Kings need to chalk out their future plans quickly if they are plan to make a splash next season. Will they promote Samson as captain or retain faith in Gaikwad? The Dhoni puzzle also needs to be sorted out.