Ruturaj Gaikwad says CSK will come back a ‘much stronger unit’ as IPL 2026 playoff hopes fade

Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad said he was “still proud of the boys” despite CSK suffering a five-wicket defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai on Monday.After the defeat, SRH chased down 181 in 19 overs through Ishan Kishan’s 47-ball 70 and Heinrich Klaasen’s 47-ball. The result also confirmed SRH’s qualification for the IPL 2026 playoffs along with Gujarat Titans.After the match, Gaikwad said that CSK stayed in the contest till the closing stages.“It was pretty tight until the end. I thought, you know, a good game of cricket. Obviously we were in the game until the penultimate over. And I think (it was) a good T20 pitch as well. I don’t think it changed too much as the game went on. And I thought 180 runs was only rounded off for a par score, but I still had a good game in those few at-bats. So, good, good.” proud of the boy,” Gaikwad said.The CSK captain felt his team failed to build pressure after taking wickets.“I think nothing really, just conceding an opportunity right after you take the wicket. That’s where you want to put pressure on the opposition. I think we weren’t able to do that, especially after losing the wicket,” he said.Gaikwad also pointed to the positives going forward despite CSK missing some key players this season.“But still, I think with the squad we had, the limited squad and whatever the best combinations we had, I’m still proud and I still feel we did well,” he added.(Do you think you can still build on this team going into next year?) “Well, sure. We’re building. To be honest, I think a lot of positives. The addition of Sanju is a great sign. He’s playing really well for us. Kartik Sharma, great knock again today. So I think we’re building.”Gaikwad admitted that the absence of some players affected the balance of the side.“Obviously we missed a couple of players, a couple of key players that were part of the starting XI. And I think you have to look back and go where are we going to find the exact replacements, yes or no? So of course it depends on a lot of factors, but still, given the squad we had, everybody played their hearts out today. And like I said, still proud of the guys,” he said.The ČSK captain also thanked the team’s supporters after another season when the team struggled at home.(A word for CSK fans?) “Yes sir. The crowd, the fans that we have all over the world come and support us in everything. So yes, we lost a few games at home but I think we were still much better this year compared to last year. And definitely a much stronger unit will come here next year,” Gaikwad said.Earlier, SRH restricted CSK to 180/7 after opting to bowl. Pat Cummins picked up 3/28 while Gaikwad managed 15 off 21 balls.Sanju Samson gave CSK a quick start with boundaries against Nitish Kumar Reddy and Praful Hinge before being dismissed by Cummins.Dewald Brevis scored 44 off 27 balls and added 59 runs with Shivam Dub, but CSK failed to cross the 200-run mark.