3 min readUpdated: Apr 10, 2026 02:55 PM IST
A defeat to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru last Sunday has deepened the Chennai Super Kings’ woes in the IPL 2026 season, with former CSK stars now coming out to slam captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and the team management for their tactics.
The 43-run loss to RCB meant that CSK had failed to notch up a win in three consecutive games this season, as well as seven in succession under Gaikwad, who has now lost 14 of his 22 matches in charge of the side. Former CSK bowler and coach Lakshmipathy Balaji slammed Gaikwad’s tactics with the ball against RCB.
Batting first at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, RCB posted a record 250-run total against CSK when Gaikwad’s sloppy usage of England pacer Jamie Overton in two halves backfired for the visitors. While he started his spell with two economical overs for 12 runs, Gaikwad brought in the Englishman later at the death, where he was blown away by a Tim David carnage. The towering Aussie smashed Overton for 30 runs in the 19th over with four sixes and a four, rubbishing his figures to 1/42 in three overs.
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“A good captain will finish his secondary bowlers when it’s going well. That will save 20 runs in the end. Like Overton, when you give just 13 off 2 overs, what’s the use of coming back later and giving 40 in the other two? He should have finished his four when he was bowling well. Is Overton going to win you a game with four or five wickets in the death overs?” Balaji said in a conversation with former CSK batter S Badrinath on his YouTube channel.
Balaji also declared that CSK must amp up their spin bowling stock by drafting in West Indies left-armer Akeal Hosein and dropping their Rs 14.5 crore buy Prashant Veer, who has had a limited role with the ball thus far.
“Akeal Hosein must play instead of Prashant Veer. It’s about him. This is the place for him in the 11. Just don’t bowl Overton in the death. The match will be over there itself. But at the moment, it feels like CSK have issues in every department from top to middle order to spin and pace bowling, along with captaincy,” Balaji said.
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Badrinath also hammered CSK’s poor auction strategy to buy two uncapped stars in Veer and Rajasthan wicket-keeper Kartik Sharma. The duo became the joint-most expensive uncapped buys in IPL history, with CSK shelling out Rs 14.5 crore each for the players in the December 2025 auction.
“Picking Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer for 14 crore isn’t the players’ fault. It is the franchise’s mistake. You don’t need some big coach or analyst to pick these two at 14 crore. It’s when you pick these players at 50 lakhs that you showcase your skill in this. So this is the management’s fault, not the players’,” said Badrinath.
