IPL 2022: Three reasons why Chennai Super Kings failed to defend their title

The defending champions Chennai super kings failed to make the playoffs of the 2022 season of IPL after losing their game to Mumbai Indians.

This is only the second time in IPL history that Chennai failed to qualify.

Also read: IPL 2022, CSK vs MI: Mumbai knock Chennai out of IPL 2022 playoffs race

Here are the three reasons why Chennai failed to qualify for the playoffs

The leadership conundrum

MS Dhoni dropped a bombshell just one day ahead of IPL 2022 kick-off that he has handed over the CSK captaincy to Ravindra Jadeja. The team under Jadeja's leadership & failed to perform up to their mark. A few matches later, Jadeja handed back the captaincy duties to Dhoni.

Lack of wicket-takers in the powerplay

Chennai's costliest buy Deepak Chahar pulled his hamstring ahead of IPL 2022. To start with, he was ruled out for the first half of the tournament. During the rehab, he injured his back which ruled him out of the tournament. In absence of Chahar, Chennai failed to find a replacement for Chahar who could pick wickets in the powerplay. Mukesh Choudhary and Simarjeet Singh rose to the occasion in the latter half of the tournament but by that time it was too late for the four-time champions.

Ruturaj Gaikwad's poor form

Among the many mantras of Chennai's success in IPL, runs by the openers have been the most important one. However, Gaikwad's patchy form came as a major setback. Gaikwad who was the highest run-getter for CSK last season, got his mojo back in the second-half tournament which was again too late for the team.