「フレミング、ドーニは明確な計画を持っていなかった」：シェーン・ワトソンはMSK 2025の最初の闘争で

The five-time IPL champions, Chennai Super Kings, haven’t had a good start in IPL 2025. They are struggling in the the season, winning only one match out of four and losing three. This includes a historic win by the RCB against Chennai Super Kings at the Chepauk Stadium, their first since 2008. Things are not turning around as players are struggling to score, and star player MS Dhoni has been playing slow innings and failing to finish matches.

Former CSK player and current broadcaster Shane Watson discussed what is going wrong with the team. He believes that Stephen Fleming and MS Dhoni don’t have a clear plan.

Watson on CSK’s unusual start

Shane Watson believes it has been a big surprise that CSK hasn’t been able to start well this season. He also thinks that the CSK coach, Stephen Fleming, and MS Dhoni are not clear about the players’ roles currently.

“It’s been a surprising start to the season for CSK. Usually, after every mega auction, CSK have always carefully planned and locked in their combinations—whether it’s the batting order or bowling options. So, to see quite a few adjustments within the first four games is very unlike them. During my time with the team, Stephen Fleming and MS Dhoni were always very clear about each player’s role even before the tournament began, and those roles rarely changed. But this time, with the auction they had, there seem to be a few gaps they’re still trying to address,” says Watson.

Conway and Rachin should open

Watson thinks that Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra are the best opening pair the team could have. “In the last game, the team fielded a much more balanced line-up, with Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra opening the innings. That’s a more solid combination in my view, with Ruturaj Gaikwad coming in at number three. Previously, when Tripathi was opening, it left a few too many holes in the line-up overall.”

Watson backs MS Dhoni

Shane Watson believes in MS Dhoni’s capabilities despite his struggles to finish matches and his slow batting. He believes in MSD, saying, “MSD still keeps brilliantly and can finish games when the top order does its job. His role now is to close out innings in the final overs—and he’s doing that exceptionally well. The rest of the team just needs to set him up for that.”