IPL 2026: Michael Vaughan blasts ‘clueless’ CSK; questions Ruturaj Gaikwad’s leadership

CSK are languishing at the bottom of the points table with no wins in three contested matches in IPL 2026. Batting first or bowling, they have failed to cross the winning line, leaving the fans, former cricketers and analysts all questioning the team’s leadership. Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad hasn’t been in the best of form, even as an opener, scoring just 41 runs in three matches, with 28 being his best. Former England captain Michael Vaughan has lamented Gaikwad’s captaincy, alleging that he is guilty of waving his hands all the time, glimpses of which were seen during CSK’s 43-run loss at the Chinnaswamy Stadium the other day.

The RCB hammered CSK bowlers left, right and centre, smashing over 250 runs in the marquee clash, with the inexperienced CSK batters failing to hunt the target, losing their fourth straight game against the defending champions across two seasons.

Although they have power hitters and proven batters in Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube and Sarfaraz Khan (in the middle order), a weak or rather inexperienced bowling attack has cost CSK the matches thus far this season.

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Picking up on the same issues, Vaughan said, “Teams struggling like CSK are all running around in the field. They are clueless about where to be. The captain is waving his arms all the time. They've got some players that aren't fiery. Their bowling attack will travel because it lacks mystery.”

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Mentioning how MS Dhoni’s absence is further hurting their chances, the former England captain added while speaking on Cricbuzz, “When they've been winning this tournament, they've had the greatest captain that's ever played T20 cricket (Dhoni) behind the stumps. He waved his paddles around and then went in at No.6 or 7 and won games of cricket. Their bowling is the real concern, and hence the struggles of the top three.”

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Has CSK made a blunder with Jadeja-Samson swap?

CSK made a trade deal ahead of IPL 2026 by swapping Sanju Samson with Ravindra Jadeja alongside Sam Curran. While Curran got ruled out of the season with an injury, Jadeja’s heroics helped his former franchise, the Rajasthan Royals, win their tournament opener against CSK in a home game.

Vaughan said with no MS around, Jadeja’s experience could have come in handy for CSK.

"It's surprising they allowed Jadeja to go to RR. Jadeja offers you so much with his experience. He is a big loss in terms of experience for that group. When you are trying to bring in younger players, you need real core experience. You can't just have core experience with the bat. You need it with the ball as well, and someone like Jadeja is a big loss in the group," Vaughan continued.

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