2 min readApr 21, 2026 07:23 PM IST
They may have won the Indian Premier League (IPL) 10 times between them but Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians have both struggled to get going this season. Both teams have won two and lost four of the six games they have played thus far. Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar feels that both teams are somewhat stuck in the past in terms of their reliance on older players.
While CSK have shifted their policy towards fielding younger players this season, there still remains question marks over what role 44-year-old MS Dhoni will play when he returns. MI’s most consistent batter this season, meanwhile, has been their 38-year-old former captain Rohit Sharma while Suryakumar Yadav and current skipper Hardik Pandya have struggled. Even Jasprit Bumrah managed to get his first wicket of the season only on Monday night, six games into the season.
“CSK and Mumbai Indians are slightly guilty of being emotionally connected and invested in the big-name, big-brand players a bit too much,” said Manjrekar on SportStar. “CSK even more so with Dhoni. This means that you’re not getting people who are in their prime. It’s like living in the past a little bit. It’s just about getting guys who are in their prime in T20 cricket. It’s such a modern-day format, so it’s best to be current with everything that you do with your team.”
MI had gone on a run of four defeats in a row after winning their first match of the season for the first time in 13 years. That run ended quite spectacularly on Monday night when they beat Gujarat Titans by 99 runs. CSK, meanwhile, were struggling to compete in the first three matches of the season which they lost. They then won two games before losing their last match against Sunrisers Hyderabad by 10 runs. The two sides face each other next at the Wankhede Stadium.
