Former India captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth launched a scathing tirade on struggling Chennai Super Kings following their fifth consecutive defeat in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League.
After Chennai clobbered Mumbai Indians to orchestrate a blistering start to the tournament, the Super Kings have lost their muse. The five-time champions, who appeared to be a group that sang in harmony, is now a team that has gone off-track from its melody of success.
Chennai has been tilting at windmills, and it was evident after defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders handed them a drubbing at Chepauk.
The Knight Riders of Kolkata silenced the vibrant yellow wave while cruising to an emphatic eight-wicket victory. It was Chennai's fifth successive defeat, their first in the tournament's history, and their third consecutive at Chepauk, again a first-time experience for them.
Srikkanth, often called 'Cheeka’, shot a no-holds-barred attack while decoding CSK's shambolic display across all facets of the game. The former captain described CSK's woeful powerplay, which ended at 31/2, as a "rehearsal" for a Test match. He even urged the management to think out of the box and try to use unsold players like out-of-favour Prithvi Shaw.
"One of CSK's worst defeats ever. Powerplay batting looked like a rehearsal for a Test match. Whole XI feels like it's running on nostalgia. Time to think out of the box, why not try some unsold players like Prithvi Shaw at this point? Would you try it? Even chaos is a strategy?" Srikkanth wrote on X.
On Friday, Mahendra Singh Dhoni returned to captain the Super Kings for the first time since 2023 after designated skipper, Ruturaj Gaikwad, was ruled out of the remainder of the 18th edition. After being put in to bat, Kolkata pummelled Chennai right from the first over as cracks appeared over Chennai's fortress.
After being reduced to 31/2 at the end of the powerplay, Chennai couldn't recover enough to put up a fighting total as they limped to 103/9.
Kolkata didn't waste time and went straight to business with their fiery approach. They effortlessly gunned down the paltry 104-run target in just 10.1 overs to put CSK out of their misery with a commanding 8-wicket victory.
© 2025