Former Team India batter Subramaniam Badrinath believes the tide has turned on the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as a franchise amid their torrid run in the ongoing IPL 2026. The Men in Yellow suffered a third consecutive defeat to open their season against arch-rivals Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on April 5.

Having been the model of consistency for years, CSK have missed the playoffs in the last two IPL seasons. They are heading towards a similar result in the ongoing edition, given they are currently at the bottom of the standings.

Talking about CSK’s stunning decline over the past few years after their loss to RCB, Badrinath said on his YouTube channel (3:06):

“Before, players used to struggle in other teams and then perform brilliantly in CSK. Now, players go out from CSK and do well elsewhere. The words and actions from the leadership group are totally contrasting. There is no rationale behind some of their moves and changes. There seems to be a leadership crisis with CSK on and off the field.”

The five-time champions suffered their worst-ever season last year, finishing at the bottom with only four wins in 14 outings.

“The management needs to be questioned” – S Badrinath CSK’s leadership core

Subramaniam Badrinath questioned the CSK management and leadership group for their abysmal auction strategies over the past couple of seasons amid their dismal 2026 IPL campaign. The franchise invested heavily in two uncapped Indian players, Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma, for a combined ₹28.40 crore in the 2026 auction, passing on several proven performers at lower prices.

“The management needs to be questioned. Ruturaj himself has said that they have failed in the auctions. CSK was a terrible failure at the auction. They retained Jadeja before the mega auction. They could have got KL Rahul when DC took him for 13.75 crores. Had CSK signed KL Rahul then, you would not have needed to give away Jadeja for Samson,” said Badrinath (via the aforementioned source).

He concluded:

“CSK also bought Sameer Rizvi for 8.5 crores and played him at No.6. He did not perform there, and now for 95 Lakhs, DC are superbly using him at No.4. The same way, CSK did not buy Ravi Bishnoi at a low price. Lungi Ngidi is another CSK missed out at a bargain price.”

CSK’s big off-season trade of Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran for Sanju Samson has been a disaster so far this season. Samson is yet to reach double figures in either of his three innings.