Chennai Super Kings continue to struggle in IPL as they miss the playoffs for third season in a row this year after a massive 89-run loss to Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Monday. CSK ended the IPL 2026 with 12 points from 14 games, winning only six of them and losing eight. Although the yellow army came into the tournament with a relatively young squad, injuries, lack of consistency and tactics troubled their entire campaign. 3 Biggest Reasons Behind CSK’s Group Stage Exit in IPL 2026 Ruturaj Gaikwad's Captaincy and Batting questioned The CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad faced questions throughout the season both with his batting and captaincy. The captain scored 337 in 14 matches with an average of 123 and it was a concern for the opener at a time when strike rates is crucial at the top for the modern day T20 game. The opening partnership also performed poorly as they only managed a fifty+ stand in the tournament throughout the campaign. There were numerous questions on team selections and the changes that the coach and captain made in bowling. The spinner Akeal Hosein was introduced late in the campaign and in seven matches he managed to pick eight wickets, however his late introduction raised questions. On the other hand, some young players such as Prashant Veer failed to get consistent chances through the tournament. Also Read | Vijay Shankar Retires from IPL and Domestic Cricket, Opens Up on 'Unreal Hate' During Career Lack of Consistent Team Performances Apart from Sanju Samson, CSK's batting order struggled with consistency in its contributions. Samson was the top run-scorer for the team with 477 runs and the only CSK player to register a hundred in the season. But the middle order contributions of players such as Dewald Brevis and Shivam Dube have been meager and erratic. The bowling attack was without much support and support for youngsters like Anshul Kamboj, who finished as the leading wicket-taker for the side with 17 wickets but couldn't maintain the momentum in the last few matches and conceded quite a lot. Jamie Overton and Noor Ahmad were the only two other bowlers to bag more than 10 wickets. Injuries Marred CSK's Campaign Injuries was one of the most obvious reasons for CSK's downfall this season. Australian pacer Nathan Ellis suffered a hamstring injury before the start of the season and missed out entirely. Further down the campaign many of the players had to miss out due to injuries such as Grade 2 quadriceps tear in Khaleel Ahmed, hamstring issue in Ayush Mhatre just after 6 matches. Jamie Overton struggled with a thigh injury despite contributing both with bat and ball, Ramakrishnan Ghosh's season was cut short after fracturing his foot early on in the season. Injuries coupled with the lack of consistent team performances and the tactical flaws have put a lot of questions ahead of CSK before IPL 2027.