MS Dhoni is yet to play a game as he recovers from a calf strain. One man who blames the management for CSK's poor form is former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar.

Sanjay Manjrekar Not a Fan of CSK Right Now

Manjrekar blamed the management for badly handling Dhoni's situation. He also called the fandom of 'Thala' nothing short of 'sycophancy'. He also said that the fall in Ruturaj Gaikwad's form was due to CSK's poor decision-making. Manjrekar recalled how he was once abused by Dhoni fans for his opinion. He's also not sure how much of an impact Dhoni will have whenever he is back.

© X/IPL

"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. 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 said while speaking to Sportstar.

Sanjay Manjrekar Calls Out MS Dhoni Fans

"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. 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," he added.

© X/IPL

"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. 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 went on to say.

CSK's next game is vs MI on April 23. There has been chatter that it could be Dhoni's comeback game but nothing is official. Dhoni turns 45 this year and this is going to be his 19th season. But it is not clear if IPL 2026 is his last or whether he shall be back for IPL 2027.