Suresh Raina said MS Dhoni had no role in Chennai’s IPL 2025 auction decisions and blamed the management for the team’s poor performance.
Former India cricketer Suresh Raina has suggested that MS Dhoni was not involved in Chennai Super Kings’ IPL 2025 auction decisions. Raina said that while Dhoni was sometimes consulted, he never handled full auction planning.
Criticizing Chennai’s auction approach, Raina pointed to the team’s poor performance this season, with only two wins. He added that Dhoni would usually suggest four or five players but not oversee the strategy. Raina had earlier expressed doubts about the auction after Chennai’s heavy loss to Mumbai Indians and repeated his concerns after another defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad.
“They (management) always make a call to MS I remember that. I was never close to the auction planning, to be very honest. I never had a discussion with the management regarding all of this,” Raina said while speaking on Star Sports.
“MS used to get a call sometimes, whether to get a player or not, or make a bid, but he was never fully involved. The manner with which they did this auction, you can imagine, Dhoni aisa auction kar hi nahi sakta (Dhoni can never do an auction like this). He will mention the 4-5 players that he wants, that is it,” he added.
Raina also highlighted that despite MS Dhoni’s efforts as a 43-year-old wicketkeeper-captain, the support from the rest of the squad has been disappointing. He pointed out that highly paid players, some earning ₹18 crore, ₹17 crore, and ₹12 crore, have failed to back their captain’s leadership.
“A 43-year-old captain, who is playing as a brand and for fandom, is putting in the effort. He is keeping wickets at this age, captaining the side, taking the entire weight of the team on his shoulders. What are the other 10 players doing? The 18 crore, 17 crore, 12 crore players are not responding to the captain,” the former cricketer said.
Chennai currently sits at the bottom of the table, struggling with team composition and lack of consistency.
