MS Dhoni "Knows CSK Have Not Bought Players...": 5-Time Champions' "Rs 18 Crore, Rs 17 Crore" Stars Questioned

Chennai Super Kings' chances of qualifying for the IPL 2025 are all but over. With their latest defeat to SunRisers Hyderabad on Friday, CSK have now lost seven of the nine games played. The five-time champions are lying at the bottom of the points table. Whatever could go wrong for CSK, has gone wrong for the MS Dhoni-led side. Dhoni was not supposed to lead the side this year but after designated captain Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled, the legendary ex-India captain took over. However, the fortunes have not changed for CSK. 

Dhoni's long-time teammate in the Indian cricket team and CSK, Suresh Raina, feels the side got it wrong in the IPL 2025 mega auction. 

"Kasi Viswanathan has been handling the administration for a long time. Rupa ma'a, is handling buying the player, administration etc. MS knows, whoever is sitting, this time players have not been bought properly," Raina said on Star Sports. 

"Who is accountable for player selection in auction - is it the management or is it fully MS Dhoni?" the anchor asked. 

"They always make a call to MS. But to be very honest, I have never attended any of the auctions. I was never a part of those discussions. I always talked about the players who were retained. MS might get a call about whether to go ahead with a player or not - but he's not that involved," Raina replied.

"The core group handles the auction - you can imagine, Dhoni can't have this type of auction. He would maybe name four or five players he wants, and out of them, a few would be retained. Even if an uncapped player is working hard, look at MS Dhoni-—being a 43-year-old captain, still giving everything. He is giving that effort, what are the other 10 players doing. What are the guys doing who are earning Rs 18 crore,