Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has slammed Chennai Super Kings (CSK) management for poor handling of their captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad, as the franchise struggles to get momentum in the IPL 2026. He also slammed the hero worship culture seeping into cricket, using MS Dhoni as an example.

CSK have had a rough start to the IPL 2026, winning only two matches out of six played. They have also had to deal with their captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad’s poor form, as the skipper has 82 runs in six innings thus far.

“This blame, I’m going to put at the doorstep of the owners and people who make the big decisions. Because Gaikwad, before he was captain, was phenomenal at the top of the order,” said Manjrekar on Sportstar’s Insight Edge podcast.

Manjrekar went on to say that Gaikwad's predicament has not been improved by the intense devotion around CSK superstar MS Dhoni. Additionally, he recalled an incident that demonstrated the ferocity of Dhoni's fanbase.

“And then that thing with M.S Dhoni, whether he’s going to be playing, whether he’s going to be captain, they handled that very badly. And this is where you see the sycophancy of Indian culture that has seeped into cricket as well. I mean, there isn’t just a fan following of Dhoni, there is sycophancy around it,” he added.

“There was [this] one instance of Dhoni trying to put his bat into the crease, and it was a very close call. And I said, well, he is clearly short of the crease, and it should be run out. They [fans] got angry with me for saying that because it was anti-Dhoni. So somewhere they lost sight of the whole picture,” he added.

Due to a calf injury sustained before the season, Dhoni has not played for CSK in the 2026 Indian Premier League. Manjrekar had concerns about how CSK would fit Dhoni in the starting lineup when asked if his comeback would lessen Gaikwad's workload.

“Maybe, but then you have to play Dhoni on the field. And how do you do that? I mean, increasingly, he’s finding it tough to deliver. So, it was a bit of a joke when he used to come down the order and just play three or four balls. The coverage would hype that up as well – ‘What an innings.’ And it lasted four balls.

So that’s not feasible anymore, and it was never going to be a long-term thing. So I can’t pretend to know how Ruturaj felt when M.S. was on the field, but not captaining, as opposed to M.S. not being there and he being solely in charge,” said Manjrekar.

Manjrekar also drew parallels between CSK and the Mumbai Indians, pointing to an overreliance on big-name players.

“CSK and Mumbai Indians are slightly guilty of being emotionally connected and invested in the big-name, big-brand players a bit too much. CSK even more so with Dhoni. This means that you’re not getting people who are in their prime. It’s like living in the past a little bit. It’s just about getting guys who are in their prime in T20 cricket. It’s such a modern-day format, so it’s best to be current with everything that you do with your team,” he added.

MI and CSK will clash on April 23 in Mumbai in the IPL 2026.