Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have been going through a poor season in IPL 2025, with the franchise sitting at the bottom of the points table after eight matches, where they have lost six. Former India and CSK cricketer Suresh Raina has shared his views on his old team. Raina has said that the lack of local players in CSK’s squad is the weakest the franchise has ever had as well.

“This is the weakest CSK team, definitely. I think there’s no intent. The hunger to win is not there. Not to disrespect anyone, but the brand that CSK is known for, that’s not there now,” Suresh Raina said on his Instagram, in a chat with Harbhajan Singh.

Raina also questioned why CSK does not include a lot of players from its home state of Tamil Nadu, despite many talented players playing in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) as well.

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“Look at how local players who have played in TNPL are doing. B Sai Sudharsan is doing well, he is playing for Gujarat Titans. R Sai Kishore and Shahrukh Khan are also playing for GT. You have to bring local players,” Raina further said. “When we were winning, we had the likes of Murali Vijay, L Balaji, S Badrinath, myself, MS Dhoni, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. When you don’t bring local flavour, it doesn’t work,” he added.

He also criticised CSK’s approach in IPL 2025, especially in batting.

“When we played in Chennai, we were not playing dot balls. Strike rotation wins matches. We played proper basic cricket. In the first six overs, we showed intent. And in the death, there were the likes of MS Dhoni and Albie Morkel. They used to play cameos. Because of all these, we were winning,” Suresh Raina concluded.