Top 3 talking points from Chennai Super Kings’ group stage campaign in IPL 2024

A shocking development occurred during the 2024 IPL season: the powerful Chennai Super Kings, who have won the IPL five times and are among the most successful teams in IPL history, failed to reach the playoffs after suffering 27 runs of defeat against the RCB side on May 18.

Notably, despite an elite legacy and a star-studded line-up, CSK fell short this time, making only the third instance in IPL history that they are out of the playoffs. In the same vein, here are the top three talking points of the CSK camp from the group stage of IPL 2024.

1. Injuries came at the wrong time in the season.

Notably, the side suffered most injuries in the middle of the season, which was the main reason they didn’t give their best. The right-arm pacer, Deepak Chahar, who has always played a great role in CSK’s success over the years, sustained injuries in the last few games. Meanwhile, Matheesha Pathirana and Mahesh Theekshana were also ruled out due to serious injuries.

In addition, CSK coach Stephen Fleming also expressed worries as their players kept getting injured.

2. Lack of Steady Partnership

CSK failed to make the perfect opening appearance this year in the absence of star batter Devon Conway. Notably, Ruturaj Gaikwad was magnificent as the opening batter, but he failed to stitch the stand with Ajinkya Rahane and Rachin Ravindra, who took the opportunity to fill the role in the absence of the New Zealand batter.

In addition, the lack of partnership put them in trouble, as they were continuously failing to give a great start to the power plays.

3. Over Reliance on Ruturaj Gaikwad

The CSK side was overly dependent on Ruturaj Gaikwad owing to the absence of Devon Conway. Notably, Ajinkya Rahane, Rachin Ravindra, and Daryll Mitchel didn’t live up to the expectations, which put pressure on the CSK skipper to make the runs alongside the captaincy.

However, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni, and Ravindra Jadeja did contribute to the team, but Ruturaj Gaikwad was the only one who was consistent and kept scoring throughout the edition.