Former Indian world-cup winner of 1983, Kris Srikkanth has unleashed an onslaught on Ruturaj Gaikwad’s leadership after his side, CSK suffered its third consecutive defeat in IPL 2026. All his observations had to do with clarity and command as a captain by Gaikwad. From what Srikkanth has quoted, the indicators were obvious from the beginning itself. The structure seemed wrong. There was a lack of purpose, but most of all, the captain was unsure during crucial moments.
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Srikkanth, an India opener batsman in his time, concentrated on the tactical shortcomings of CSK. This included improper field settings and lack of clear bowling plans. He further compared the level of leadership that is expected from a top team captain during the final stages of a game. He pointed to poor field positioning and confused bowling rotations. He also compared leadership standards, highlighting how top captains take charge in crunch phases. In contrast, he felt CSK lacked direction and urgency under Gaikwad’s watch.
“Field placements were completely off. You can’t have Shivam Dube at long-on while your best fielders are out of key positions. Someone like Ravindra Jadeja should be controlling crucial areas like backward point.” The slip-ups at important moments of the game, cost them the match. Compare that to RCB Virat Kohli takes responsibility in important spots, and sharp fielders like Salt are placed smartly. CSK, on the other hand, looked messy in the field. Poor captaincy overall he looked completely unsure out there.”
Pressure mounts as Faf du Plessis backs Gaikwad through early captaincy setbacks
Support has also emerged from the CSK camp. Ex-captain Faf du Plessis backed Gaikwad, stressing the pressure that accompanies the role of captaining a team. Du Plessis stressed that pressure is always high for CSK players, especially for young captains who may have difficult periods early on.
He said, “It is not easy as a young captain to suffer back-to-back defeats. Not performing yourself makes things even more difficult as a player.”
“Expectation when you put on a yellow shirt comes at a cost. The fans expect good performances.”
“They expect the team to be in the semi-finals and finals and to win trophies.”
In addition, du Plessis pointed out that this kind of period shapes up leaders. Du Plessis mentioned that facing pressure is one of the steps in growing, adding that Gaikwad has a good support structure around him, with help from the likes of MS Dhoni.
