Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming admitted that they might have gone wrong while picking players at the IPL 2025 mega auction after the five-time title holders slumped to a seventh loss in nine games on Friday, losing by five wickets to Sunrisers Hyderabad at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk.

The loss extended their losing streak to four matches, and has also coincided with CSK’s worst performance at home ever in the league, with their slim hopes of qualifying for the playoffs fading rapidly.

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“It is hard to say we got it completely right with the performances that we have had,” Fleming said after CSK put on another meek batting performance at home. “So we have been looking over that in detail, just around our style of play. Also, looking at how the game is evolving.

“And it is not easy. And that is why we are proud of our record today. We have been able to be consistent for so long, and it doesn’t take much for it to go another way. Other teams have got better, and that is the point of the auction. But we just haven’t been able to get it right,” he added.

The former New Zealand skipper said the situation demanded better understanding and effort from the players.

“So you take responsibility from the top down, and then you just ask a little more of the players. But yeah, that (auction) has to be an area where we need to reflect and say it wasn’t as good as what it could have been, or it hasn’t worked out how we wanted.”

Auction, a fluid beast: Fleming

Defending their selection at the auction, Fleming termed it as a ‘very fluid beast’ but felt that the franchise got a good squad, but were handicapped by the loss of key players due to injuries, and the lack of form of some.

“It is also not perfect science. The auction is a very fluid beast. It’s like buying [for] 25 hours and seeing it come away at the end of it, mentally and sometimes physically exhausted. And to be fair, I still think we have got a good squad. We are not far away,” he said.

“A couple of key injuries, just a bit of a lack of form. And we have just struggled really to nail a game plan. We’ve chopped and changed too much. I think it was trying to look for something that perhaps we felt wasn’t there. So yeah, there is a lot of responsibility and soul-searching, and it certainly starts with me at the top, 100%,” admitted Fleming.

Dhoni hints at wholesale changes

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni isn’t a fan of the chop and change approach but the lacklustre form of his players could force the former India skipper to ring in wholesale changes in the Playing XI as CSK look to end the season on a positive note.

On Friday, after Sunrisers Hyderabad cruised to a five-wicket win to register their first-ever win at the Chepauk, a visibly dejected Dhoni reflected on the loss and said it becomes hard for any franchise when four leading players are not performing as expected.

“In a tournament like this, if you have one or two areas where you can plug in the holes, it’s good. But if the majority of your players are not doing well, whether it’s batting or bowling, it becomes challenging because you have to make a few changes. But if the majority of them are doing well, you give that guy that extra few games, and if it doesn’t work out, then you move on to the next one,” said Dhoni.

“But if four of them are not performing at the same time, you’re bound to make that change because you can’t just keep on going because you’re not putting enough runs on the board. And that’s essential right now,” he added.

CSK will next take on Punjab Kings on April 30 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.