Five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings are one of the most successful franchises in the history of IPL. Since the initial days of the tournament, they have been very consistent. One of the key factors to that consistency is the Dhoni-Fleming partnership. The captain and coach of the CSK have done it for a long period of time until recently Ruturaj Gaikwad took over from MS Dhoni. But they still have Fleming as the coach and MS Dhoni is actively playing and guiding from behind the stumps. They had a season to forget in 2025 as they finished at the bottom of the table. So can their experience still overpower younger teams.
Let us look at some aspects of the game where Chennai Super Kings experience still overpower younger teams who have not been part of many IPL seasons.
1.The MS Dhoni Factor
MS Dhoni has been playing in the Indian Premier League since 2008 and has captained them to multiple IPL trophies. He is set to play in the upcoming edition and he will bring all his experience into the field. This will help the team atmosphere in pressure situations. He will also play a crucial finishing role and can guide the batters on the field based on the risk factor and how to approach the game. As many experts have said before, you cannot buy experience on the market easily.
2.Stephen Fleming Hybrid Approach
Stephen Fleming has many times in the past said that they select players only keeping the immediate tournament in mind and that they do not want to invest on players ahead of their peak. But after the disappointing results in the first half of the season, Fleming has adopted a hybrid approach where CSK were seen fielding plenty of youngsters in the second half of the last season. He has now blended experienced players with younger players to form a dynamic combination.
3. Management Stability
CSK have one of the most stable management and leadership groups. The team management have been with the team over so long that they know how to work out plans. They have seen the glory days of winning the title and on other occasions where the team has not done well. In the 2022 IPL, CSK did not have a great campaign but the coaches were not sacked and the same team won another title in 2023. While some of the younger sides in the competition will chop and change after every bad season.
