Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad has tried to put the franchise’s recent struggles in perspective, saying the team’s repeated playoff misses cannot be judged without looking at the injury setbacks they have faced across the last few seasons. While he admitted CSK’s failure to qualify for the playoffs has been disappointing, Gaikwad said the bigger picture has often been ignored.

CSK are now in the middle of their longest playoff drought in IPL history, and much of that stretch has unfolded under Gaikwad’s captaincy. The franchise, once built on experience and stability, has recently shifted toward a younger core, but the results have still not gone their way. The pressure has also increased with Sanju Samson emerging as a possible captaincy option and Gaikwad’s own batting form drawing scrutiny.

“The last two years haven’t gone the way everyone expected,” Ruturaj Gaikwad told Sportstar. “But you have to understand certain dynamics and factors that affect a season. Even in 2025, me being captain and missing more than half the tournament was definitely a setback. Last year too, we had four or five players from our playing XII miss almost half the tournament,” he added.

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CSK’s injury list has been long and damaging. MS Dhoni was troubled by a calf issue and later a thumb problem, while Jamie Overton, Nathan Ellis, Ayush Mhatre, Khaleel Ahmed and Ramakrishna Ghosh also missed significant time through injury. Those absences weakened the side’s balance and forced frequent changes to the playing XI.

Gaikwad pointed to the impact such setbacks can have even on successful teams, using Royal Challengers Bengaluru as an example.

“Even if you look at the successful teams like RCB, if you take away three or four major players, it is definitely going to have an impact. Those are factors a lot of people don’t take into consideration. It is a results-driven tournament, and everyone expects CSK to do well every year because that’s what the franchise has done for 15 or 16 seasons,” he said.

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Ruturaj Gaikwad ended with a message for CSK supporters, urging patience as the team tries to rebuild. “Sometimes things don’t work out the way we want them to. But all the players are working hard to get the team where the fans want to see it. Hopefully, we will get there,” he said.