Former India cricketer Suresh Raina lambasted the Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) strategy at the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction, after the five-time winners slumped to their sixth defeat of the season. The MS Dhoni-led side suffered a nine-wicket loss against the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, April 20, taking them one step closer to elimination from the playoffs race. CSK are currently languishing at the bottom of the table with four points in eight matches, with a dismal net run-rate of -1.392. The Yellow Army have been plagued with issues right from the get-go, with injuries and underperforming players throwing a wrench in their plans. While other teams have firepower in their line-up, CSK have struggled to meet the threshold and standards required for modern-era T20 cricket. Their glaring issues were on show in their recent loss to MI, as they posted a well below-par score of 176-5 on a good batting strip. The Hardik Pandya-led side chased down the total in just 15.4 overs. Suresh Raina was baffled by how CSK did not try to get at least one big name at the auction table. "I think somewhere, the coach and the management did not get the auction right. There were so many talented players in the auction, so many youngsters. You go to the auction with so much money, you didn't go for Iyer, Rahul, or Pant. When you see other teams, they are playing such attacking cricket, I have never seen CSK struggle so much," Raina said on Star Sports. Raina's former teammate, Harbhajan Singh, agreed with Raina's views, but also added that CSK should have done a better job scouting for young talent. CSK did not go for Rahul or Pant, they had that option, they could have gone for those players. Even among their youngsters, they are not that sort of youngsters who are game-changers. CSK should question their scouts and ask whether enough information was provided or not?" Harbhajan Singh said during commentary. CSK entered the mega auction with a purse of INR 55 crore after retaining five crore. The franchise shelled out INR 18 crore each on Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ravindra Jadeja. Matheesha Pathirana and Shivam Dube were kept on board for INR 13 and 12 crore respectively, while MS Dhoni was retained as an uncapped player for INR 4 crore. CSK's biggest acquisitions on the auction table were the spin duo of Noor Ahmad and Ravichandran Ashwin, who cost a combined INR 19.75 crore. "Some question marks need to be answered" - CSK captain MS Dhoni after loss to MI in IPL 2025 CSK have recruited some young talent midway through the season, with the duo of Ayush Mhatre and Dewald Brevis replacing the injured pair of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Gurjapneet Singh, respectively. Mhatre made a promising start to his IPL career with a stunning 15-ball 32 after being thrown into the mix straightaway. What we need to realize is, we're successful because we play good cricket, there's no need to be emotional about it, we need to see if we're playing the right cricket, that's what is needed. Some question marks need to be answered. We will just take one game at a time, get the right combination next year, will try and qualify, if we can't then come back harder next season," Dhoni said during the post-match presentation. CSK will face the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) next at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday, April 25