3 min readApr 2, 2026 07:56 PM IST
Despite the big loss against Rajasthan Royals in their opening match, where they were outplayed on all fronts, Chennai Super Kings are looking to get back on their feet when they host Punjab Kings on Friday. With a largely inexperienced team at disposal and the likes of Dewald Brevis and MS Dhoni still recovering from injury, captain Ruturaj Gaikwad has said they are trying to keep the young team in a positive mindset.
Having always relied on experienced players, CSK went for an overhaul in the mini-auctions ahead of the current season. Having missed a large chunk of previous season with an injury, this is again a fresh beginning of sorts for Gaikwad, who took over from Dhoni in 2024. “I think we didn’t have the best of squads last year. When I say that, no disrespect to any players. But, I think the combination didn’t just click the way we wanted. And then, obviously, the second year of the cycle, you just have limited options, limited pool available. And you try to fill in those gaps with whatever players available and hope that things will turn and things will fall in place. So, I think, yes, we might have missed out on few good players in the main auction that happened. As I said, it is a learning process. This year we tried to fix some of the places. A lot depends on how individuals click, how individuals play and perform as well,” Gaikwad said.
Having moved on from the likes of Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, Chennai have added the likes of Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Sarfaraz Khan to go with Ayush Mhatre, Urvil Patel and Brevis who came in as replacement players last season. And Gaikwad admitted, it is a new challenge for the team.
“Till last year, we had the best experienced players available playing for our team. So, nothing much was really needed or any inputs were not needed for them. Looking at this team now, it is a very young team. Obviously, excitement is there. But, at the same time, you know, there is a lot of difference between experienced players and inexperienced players. So, you have to allow them to make mistakes. You have to allow them to express themselves. You have to make sure that they are in a good headspace. That is what my and Fleming or the whole coaching management job is. So, that is what we are trying to do,” Gaikwad said.
