The second most successful franchise in IPL history, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have made a forgettable start to the 15th edition of the tournament. The Ravindra Jadeja-led side have lost their first four matches and are currently languishing at the bottom of the points table. 

For a franchise that lifted the trophy less than just six months ago are now struggling to even open their account and it’s a hard pill to swallow for anyone.

Forget victories, the Chennai-based outfit has even failed to challenge their opposition thus far in the tournament and given their form people are afraid that they might be heading towards their worst-ever finish in the history.

After their fourth defeat in IPL 2022, former India head coach Ravi Shastri pointed out the biggest blunder the franchise made heading into the tournament and are now suffering because of that.

Just two days before their opening clash, former CSK skipper MS Dhoni relinquished the position and handed over the leadership to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who has been part of their squad since 2012.

Leading the side for the first time in his senior career, the Saurashtra all-rounder has looked under a lot of pressure which has affected his own individual performance, with both bat and ball.

The former India all-rounder feels that letting go of a seasoned campaigner like Faf du Plessis was the biggest blunder the franchise made on the auction table and are now paying a heavy price for that.

“I feel that someone like Jadeja, he should focus on his own game. If Chennai were to think back, they wouldn't have let go of Faf du Plessis,” Shastri said on ESPNcricinfo show T20 Time Out.

The franchise didn’t bid as strongly for the former Proteas skipper as they did for Deepak Chahar and he was eventually picked by RCB for Rs 7 crore.

Shastri couldn’t understand why the franchise didn’t break their bank for du Plessis if they knew Dhoni would step down from the role. The 59-year-old has no doubt that had CSK picked the Proteas star they wouldn’t have been in such a miserable state.

“He (du Plessis) is a match-winner, he has won the IPL with Chennai, he has a lot of experience. If Dhoni was thinking of giving up the captaincy, then Faf should have been given the job, and Jadeja should have continued as a player. He would have played freely, without the pressure of captaincy. Things could have been different for Chennai then,” he added.

What Shastri is saying is right but that alone has not caused CSK’s downfall. Even without du Plessis, they managed to assemble a strong group of players but they have all failed to perform as a unit.

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