Anshul Kamboj, left, and Dewald Brevis impressed for Chennai Super Kings in an otherwise dismal campaign. Reuters
Anshul Kamboj, left, and Dewald Brevis impressed for Chennai Super Kings in an otherwise dismal campaign. Reuters
Anshul Kamboj, left, and Dewald Brevis impressed for Chennai Super Kings in an otherwise dismal campaign. Reuters
Anshul Kamboj, left, and Dewald Brevis impressed for Chennai Super Kings in an otherwise dismal campaign. Reuters

IPL 2025: Chennai Super Kings sow seeds for future success amid ruins of campaign


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Chennai Super Kings have had one of their worst seasons in IPL, but history might be a lot kinder on them once the decisions they implemented this year begin to bear fruit.

A team is always assessed by wins and losses. There is no consolation prize in competitive sport. But you don’t win every time. Just like you don’t lose every time. What matters in top level sport is what you do when the eyes are not on you, or when you are down.

The Super Kings plunged to new depths at the start of the tournament as they got walloped home and away with surprising ease. The five-time IPL champions fell into a death spiral of slow starts in the powerplay followed by desperate batting by an unsettled and misfiring batting line-up.

Still, Chennai remained defiant. Coach Stephen Fleming bravely said something to the effect of “we will see who wins it in the end”. By the end, MS Dhoni returned as captain and many of the players the Super Kings had bought during the auction failed miserably, quietly pushed to the bench.

Chennai are a champion franchise and the winning mentality doesn’t just vanish overnight. But when even hardcore Chennai fans began admonishing the team’s stubborn resistance to modern batting and promising local talent, the team management knew they had a problem on their hands. The great Dhoni also saw his spot in the team being questioned openly and regularly.

Their 2025 campaign was pretty much over midway through the season. The only thing that Chennai could now do is plan for the future. That was difficult because Chennai had played almost their entire squad early in the season, proving once again how poor their auction strategy and talent scouts had been.

Then, in true Chennai style, the struck upon an ingenious plan. They got in reinforcements, with one eye on the next season, through injury replacements.

Dashing young batter Ayush Mhatre, local T20 powerhouse Urvil Patel and South Africa’s promising young batter Dewald Brevis came in as injury replacements just as their season was going down the drain. And all three provided an immediate spark to the team, proving beyond doubt that those who made decisions before and during the player auction were way off the mark.

In their final league match of the season against tournament favourites Gujarat Titans on Sunday, all three injury replacements set the tone for the 2026 season in one of the more complete batting performances this term.

Opener Mhatre (34 from 17 balls), Patel (37 off 19) and Brevis (57 from 23) took Gujarat’s bowling apart, helping Chennai post 230-5 – a total that seemed unimaginable in the earlier part of the tournament for Chennai.

All three batted at a strike rate of around or above 200, while showing acceptable technique. Which makes you wonder what made the team pick left-of-field batters like Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tripathi and Deepak Hooda at the start of the season. Those three were not high on the wish list of any other franchise, while the new injury replacements were on the radar of many.

By the end of the campaign, Brevis (225 runs in six innings) and Mhatre (240 runs in seven games) were easily their most impactful batters.

More than the wisdom of selecting the replacements, what mattered more was the tacit admission from Chennai, who are known to pick and back veteran cricketers almost exclusively, that it was time to embrace younger and untested players who might lack experience but offer greater impact, especially with the bat.

What also changed this season was the famed Chennai template of picking their team for slow turners at home and dominating the games, while cutting their losses away. This time, wickets at all venues turned out to be equally challenging, making an all-round game and quality personnel more critical than venue specific selections.

Chennai’s bowling is still respectable, with wrist spinner Noor Ahmed, seamer Anshul Kamboj, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and pacer Matheesha Pathirana holding their own.

With the addition of potent top and middle order batters, we might see the return of the Chennai we know next year. With or without Dhoni in charge.

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THE SPECS

2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE

Engine: 1.8 litre combined with 16-volt electric motors

Transmission: Automatic with manual shifting mode

Power: 121hp

Torque: 142Nm

Price: Dh95,900

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GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Short-term let permits explained

Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.

Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.

There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.

Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.

It Was Just an Accident

Director: Jafar Panahi

Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr

Rating: 4/5

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

Biography

Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad

Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym

Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army

Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter

Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's

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THE SIXTH SENSE

Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Rating: 5/5

Herc's Adventures

Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

MATCH INFO

Mainz 0

RB Leipzig 5 (Werner 11', 48', 75', Poulsen 23', Sabitzer 36')

Man of the Match: Timo Werner (RB Leipzig)

UAE%20v%20West%20Indies
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Updated: May 26, 2025, 5:10 AM`