3 reasons behind CSK’s downfall in IPL 2026

CSK have won six and lost six out of 12 games.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have struggled to come up with consistent performances in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. The franchise witnessed three defeats at the start of the tournament, but made a slight comeback after that. However, their recent defeat against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) has put them in a spot of bother and now they find a tough challenge ahead of them.

With six wins and six defeats in 12 games so far, the Ruturaj Gaikwad & Co. are placed at the sixth spot in the points table. Although CSK are still active in the race to the playoffs, their qualification will depend on results of other teams now.

The Men-in-Yellow have failed to dominate with bat and ball despite having a lot of match-winners in the side. In this listicle, let’s take a glance at three crucial reasons behind CSK’s downfall in IPL 2026.

3 reasons behind Chennai Super Kings’ poor show in IPL 2026

3. Batting struggles

Ruturaj Gaikwad & Co. have struggled to come up with a powerful batting show in IPL 2026 despite having some big international stars. Sanju Samson is the only stand-out batsman for the side, smacking 450 runs in 12 games.

Even Gaikwad has struggled to perform at his best. The rest of the batters have not crossed the 250-run mark so far. T20 specialists like Shivam Dube and Dewald Brevis have also struggled with their form this season.

2. Injuries to key players

Chennai Super Kings had to deal with a lot of injuries in their squad, which hampered their strength in IPL 2026. Pacer Nathan Ellis’ injury before the start of the season came as the first big blow.

Players like Khaleel Ahmed, Ayush Mhatre, Jamie Overton, and Ramakrishna Ghosh were ruled out after sustaining injuries during the tournament. Even MS Dhoni caught a calf injury just ahead of the season and has not played any games so far.

3. Poor fielding

The poor fielding standards in IPL 2026 have become a hot topic of discussion as many catches have been dropped by various teams. Chennai have also struggled with their fielding and have dropped as many as 20 catches.

Their catch efficiency has been 73%, which means they have dropped 27% of the catches. Dropped catches often twist the game in the opposition’s favour and put pressure on bowlers.

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