Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
On Sunday, May 25, the five-time champions, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated table-toppers, Gujarat Titans (GT) by 83 runs to finish their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season with a consolation win. However, with their final win, CSK concluded the season at the bottom of the points table for the first-time in the tournament history.
But during the match, a shocking revelation came on the front, when Suresh Raina, who is a part of the commentary panel with the broadcasters, hinted on being appointed as the new batting coach for the franchise in the next edition. However, the news broke into the world, when being asked later during the post-match press conference, the CSK support staff remained tight-lipped.
I don’t know: Sridharan Sriram responds on Suresh Raina’s appointment as CSK’s batting coach
CSK’s assistant bowling coach, Sridharan Sriram, who addressed the post-match press conference following the side’s win over GT in Ahmedabad, remained tight-lipped on Raina’s appointment. "I don't know. I have to ask him if he said that," Sriram said with a smile. Notably, these remarks from Sriram came after Raina’s comments during his commentary stint in the match.
Earlier in the day, a discussion broke out between Suresh Raina and former India cricketer Aakash Chopra on the future of the Yellow Army after their dismal performance in IPL 2025. When the camera panned over to the CSK CEO Kasi Vishwanathan, who was sitting in the stands, Aakash Chopra asked Raina about what was going on there.
Raina quickly replied by saying, “The planning for next year is what’s going on. Kasi sir has been handling everything for many years and even MS Dhoni has been at it for quite some time. If the team needs to be propelled further, new ideas and new players need to come in. CSK is a big brand and it won’t go to dust so easily.” To this, Aakash Chopra replied cheekily by saying, “You just heard it for the first time on Star Sports, from the next year’s batting coach of CSK…” hinting Suresh Raina’s appointment as the new CSK batting coach.
However, a real picture will surely come out after a few months as CSK will be hoping to comeback stronger in the next edition, putting behind this year’s performance where they finished tenth with four wins from 14 league matches, with only eight points to their name.
