‘Itna Paisa Leke Jaate Ho’: Raina, Harbhajan Slam CSK as Team Nears IPL Exit

‘Itna Paisa Leke Jaate Ho’: Chennai Super Kings gave in to their sixth defeat on Sunday in the ongoing IPL 2025 season by nine wickets to their arch-rival Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede. The defeat has left Chennai in the bottom-most position on the points table, as they are now on the verge of becoming the first team to suffer elimination from the race to make the playoffs.

The loss has put a question mark on Chennai's planning for the season, with former CSK players and India greats Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh questioning their auction strategy.

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Speaking on air during the Chennai-Mumbai matchup, former vice-captain Raina literally said that the five-time champions had lost half the battle at the auction table last November because they did not target players like Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul for being in the auction.

“Mujhe lagta hai kahin na kahin inse (CSK) auction acha nahi hua hai. Auction main itne talented players, itne youngsters the. Kaha hai woh players? Aap itna paisa leke jaate ho auction ke liye. Aapne Rishabh Pant ko chhoda, Shreyas Iyer ko chhoda, KL Rahul ko chhoda. CSK team ko kabhi aise nahi dekha struggle karte hue(I feel somewhere they did not have a good auction. There were so many talented players and youngsters in the auction. Where are they? You went to the auction with so much money but left Pant, Iyer and Rahul. I have never seen CSK struggle like this),” Raina said.

Harbhajan, who was also there in the commentary box, backed the thought of Raina, accusing the talent scouts of Chennai for the debacle this season.

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“CSK bohot badi team rahi hai. Jab yeh auction main gaye, inke paas woh option tha unn players ko le sakte the. Yuvaon main bhi waise yuva dikhe nahi jo game-changing wali innings khel sake. Thoda sa jo inke talent pool ko jo hunt karte hai unko bhi bitha ke puchhna chahiye ki bhai kya apne hume information di thi jiske chalte humne yeh logon ko select kiya tha(CSK is a big tam. They had the options to pick those players in the auction. Even among the youngsters, they did not turn out to be game-changers. The talent scouts should be questioned about their preferences, because the selection was based on that),” Harbhajan said.

Next would be the trip of Chennai returning home to face Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 25, followed by Punjab Kings on April 30. For CSK to continue in the playoffs, they would have to win all their remaining matches to finish with 16 points at the end of the league stage. They also need to ensure wins by superior margins to improve upon their net run rate.

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