MS Dhoni‘s return to Chennai Super Kings captaincy after close to 700 days ended in the team’s biggest loss (in terms of balls remaining) in the IPL against Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai on Friday. CSK could manage only 103/9 in 20 overs – their lowest ever total at their home-ground MA Chidambaram Stadium. KKR chased down the target in just 10.1 overs. After CSK’s designated skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out due to elbow injury, MS Dhoni was made the captain. There was much hype regarding his return but he could only score 1 off four balls. 

Former India batter Navjot Singh Sidhu made a brutal comment on  Dhoni’s failure.  

“Arey Dhoni aa rahe hain ji jaise sher aaya, sher aaya, hype thi, badi excitement thi, par khoda pahaad nikli chuhiya. (People were saying Dhoni is coming, the lion is coming. There was so much hype and excitement. But there was nothing to be seen),” he said during commentary. 

Navjot Singh Sidhu trolled MS Dhoni

Navjot singh Sindhu said :- …
#CSKvsKKR pic.twitter.com/mEQfwTC8VX

— Aditya Kamal Pandey() (@AadiJournalist) April 11, 2025

After Chennai Super Kings (CSK) suffered their fifth loss on the trot in IPL 2025, former Australia captain Michael Clarke stated that the five-time champions are totally down on confidence and now is the time for them to risk everything for getting wins in rest of the season.

At the MA Chidambaram Stadium, despite MS Dhoni’s return to captaincy, CSK were a pale shadow of their dominating self as KKR’s disciplined bowlers restricted them to 103/9 – their lowest IPL total on the home turf. With defending champions KKR eventually winning by eight wickets, CSK suffered their biggest defeat in the IPL in terms of balls remaining (59) and are still rooted to ninth place in the points table.

“Wicket looked quite tough to bat on. There was a little bit of movement with the new ball and certainly some spin. I think Chennai Super Kings got their plan wrong. The way they went about it – it’s clear they’re down on confidence. And their intent – well, there was no intent.”

“At the moment, it seems like a very conservative approach – just trying to get close to winning or avoid a big defeat. Instead, they should throw it all on the line, risk everything, and try to win the game.”

“That kind of change is easier said than done. Just like a good, confident feeling can become infectious in a winning dressing room, the same applies when you’re losing. That losing feeling lingers, and it’s hard to get rid of sometimes,” said Clarke on JioStar.

With IANS inputs