![\"IPL](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-131262644,imgsize-214976,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/chennai-may-18-ani-chennai-super-kings39-spencer-johnson-and-teammates-celebr.jpg\" "\\"Chennai")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nFormer India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin<\/a> has delivered a blunt assessment of Chennai Super Kings<\/a> after their disappointing IPL 2026 campaign came to an end with a crushing 89-run defeat against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on May 21.CSK finished the season with six wins, eight defeats and 12 points, a campaign that exposed several weaknesses in the squad. Reflecting on the team\u2019s struggles, Ashwin<\/a> said the franchise can no longer depend on the methods that brought sustained success during the era led by MS Dhoni. According to him, Chennai now need a complete rethink in terms of squad building, balance and overall quality.\u201cHonestly, I will say this openly, CSK has to invest in quality. They have to invest in quality cricketers. I mean, make a quality team. With experience. Bowling experience. Variety in fast bowlers. Variety in spinners. A team has to be formed in a good way,\u201d Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.The veteran off-spinner stressed that while young players bring excitement and energy, experience remains equally important in a long and demanding IPL season. He believes the ideal combination is a blend of youth and seasoned campaigners.\u201cYoung talent, exuberance of youth, as Ravi (Shastri) bhai says, it excites. But along with that, if there is experience in your team, that is a lethal combination. This is not Dhoni\u2019s Chennai Super Kings. Not at all. That time has changed. And you have to keep in mind that success will come. But it will come slowly,\u201d he added.Ashwin also raised concerns over whether CSK had assembled a squad suited to conditions at Chepauk, a venue that was once considered their biggest strength. He pointed out that batting in Chennai requires patience and adaptability rather than constant power-hitting.\u201cActually, honestly speaking, Shivam Dube\u2019s batting was very positive for Chennai,\u201d Ashwin said. \u201cBut I have an observation. I think the squad that is picked to play in their home game, in Chepauk, I think it is not suiting them.\u201dRecalling some of CSK\u2019s most successful batters from previous years, Ashwin explained why a more attritional approach is often needed on Chennai surfaces.\u201cWhenever I think of Badrinath, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Michael Hussey \u2014 players like them \u2014 I feel that to bat in Chepauk\u2019s conditions, you have to do a little attritional batting. You don\u2019t have a wicket to hit through the line like this,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n