IPL Losing Its Two Biggest Powerhouses? Alarming Signs!

It is an established, the fact that this ongoing edition of the IPL is the 18th consecutive season of this global cricket league. If we have a look back at the kind of legacy that was built in the IPL, there are two particular teams that have been ruling the charts for many years.

The two mentioned teams are Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, both of which have won the league five times each. These two teams cumulatively have more than half the number of titles till now. The fact that they have won 10 out of the 18 titles till now showcases the same. 

However, after this utter dominance in the league, it appears that both Chennai and Mumbai are witnessing a huge downward spiral. 

Particularly in this ongoing 2025 edition, both Mumbai and Chennai have been very substandard. Neither of them could generate the kind of gameplay that is expected from these two champion sites.

Mumbai has lost both their opening games of the season while Chennai has lost two out of the three games that they have played.

More than the result of these matches that were played by these two hallmark teams, the kind of mindset and mentality that they have shown on field has been questionable. Mumbai Indians in particular have been very poor in both their games and conceded big defeats. They are not even remotely close to their previous best form.

Same is the case with Chennai Super Kings as well. The transition of captaincy from Dhoni to Ruturaj Gaikwad has been very shaky and volatile. The fact that he said the recent defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, where Chennai lost by 50 runs is “not a big defeat” speaks a lot about the loss of champion mentality for CSK. 

Both Chennai and Mumbai used to be in breathtaking showdowns in the previous season of IPL. But with the downward spiral of talismanic players like Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni, both the teams have started to show alarming signs of weakness. 

These two teams were the whole identity of IPL over the last couple of decades(nearly) and it is sad to see them struggle to even put up a fight these days.