MS Dhoni To Drop Devon Conway? CSK’s Probable XI For IPL 2025 Match vs LSG

Bhargav Dixit

CSK have lost five successive matches. [Source: @ChennaiIPL/X]CSK have lost five successive matches. [Source: @ChennaiIPL/X]

In what has been the worst start to an Indian Premier League season for Chennai Super Kings, the biggest question for them is whether to ring-in multiple changes or not. In spite of reeling at the bottom of the points table, one feels they aren’t ready to press the panic button just yet.

Scheduled to face Lucknow Super Giants at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Monday, CSK will be playing at a venue whose average run rate is 1.5 more than that of the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Notably, they are yet to win a match at this ground.

CSK Unlikely To Hand IPL Debuts

At 124.23, Super Kings’ IPL 2025 strike rate is the lowest among all the teams. Only team to be striking at less than 140, strike rate (128.43) of their top-order makes them the only team to be below 130.

However, as hinted above, it is unlikely that Super Kings would hand IPL debuts to the likes of Shaik Rasheed, C Andre Siddarth or Vansh Bedi. As hinted by batting coach Michael Hussey after losing to Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday, they haven’t given up on the chances of qualifying for the playoffs to be experimenting with their combination.

"With regards to blooding youngsters, we want to pick guys when they're ready to perform as well. We've got some very good players that are waiting for their chance. No question about that. But sometimes I think when teams give up the ghost and think, 'oh well, we can't win the tournament anymore; well, we'll just try the youngsters now'. We're still here to try and progress in the tournament as far as we can," Hussey had said during the post-match press conference in Chennai.

As a result, expect more chances to be given to the likes of Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar and Deepak Hooda. That being said, what CSK could do instead is try to shuffle the batting order. While the chances of them doing it are slim, a Sam Curran could be tried at the top of the order for Devon Conway.

Position
Innings
Runs
Average
Strike Rate
Open710515119.31
Number 33386727.09144.01
Number 43483029.64138.33
Number 5461,16333.22137.14
Number 64449012.89120.98
Number 73846720.30129.36

[Sam Curran stats in T20s]

Bowlers Will Have To Come Good, Too

As much as Chennai’s batters are at fault, it’s not as if their bowlers have been at their best. A combined average of 27.75, an economy rate of 9.32 and a strike rate of 17.8 is middling, to say the least.

While Noor Ahmad and Khaleel Ahmed have been among the top performers this season, veterans Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja picking just seven wickets between them across their 33.1 overs is a major concern.

CSK’s Probable XI vs LSG

Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana, Khaleel Ahmed

Impact Players: Rahul Tripathi, Shaik Rasheed, Sam Curran, Anshul Kamboj, Kamlesh Nagarkoti.