Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are facing a tough time in IPL 2025, having lost their fifth consecutive match on April 11. The defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has left the team in a precarious position, sitting ninth on the points table. To make matters worse, their captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad, has been ruled out of the tournament due to injury. With the road to the playoffs looking increasingly difficult, a big question is looming over CSK’s reluctance to give young players like Andre Siddarth C and Vansh Bedi a chance to shine.
In the post-match press conference, CSK coach Michael Hussey addressed the concerns but avoided directly answering why the young players, bought in the IPL mega auction, have yet to get a run in the team. Instead, he emphasized that the team only plays youngsters when they feel they are truly ready to perform at the highest level.
“With regards to blooding youngsters, we want to pick guys when they’re ready to perform as well. We’ve got some very good players that are waiting for their chance. No question about that. But sometimes I think when teams give up the ghost and think, ‘oh well, we can’t win the tournament anymore; we’ll just try the youngsters now.’ We’re still here to try and progress in the tournament as far as we can,” Hussey said.
While many other franchises have given their youngsters a chance to prove themselves, CSK is taking a more cautious approach. For example, teams like Punjab Kings (PBKS) have brought in Priyansh Arya, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have Digvesh Rathi, and Delhi Capitals (DC) have Vipraj Nigam. However, Hussey believes that when the time comes, CSK will give their youngsters an opportunity to showcase their skills.
Despite CSK’s struggles, Hussey is still backing his senior players. Apart from MS Dhoni, players like Ravichandran Ashwin, Vijay Shankar, and Deepak Hooda have failed to perform at their usual best. However, Hussey is not ready to write them off just yet. He pointed to past success stories like Shane Watson and Ajinkya Rahane, who, despite being in the twilight of their careers, had key performances for CSK in the past.
“I don’t agree with that,” he said. “You know, we’ve had players in the twilight of their career come and play at CSK in the past. I think of Shane Watson. I think of Ajinkya Rahane, and they’ve performed really well for CSK. So I still think that the players that we’ve got still have some good cricket in front of them and can still offer us a lot. So, I don’t necessarily agree that, you know, they’re beyond their best. I still think we can find their best and see some great performances from them,” Hussey explained.
CSK will now face Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 14 in an away match, hoping to turn their fortunes around.
