CSK Predicted Playing 11 vs PBKS for Match 22 of IPL 2025 ft. Devon Conway & Matheesha Pathirana

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will lock horns with the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Match 22 of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) on Tuesday, April 8. The second game of the double-header will be played in Mullanpur, where the hosts don't have a great record.

The Super Kings have made a miserable start to the tournament, with only one win in four matches. They've already lost two matches at home, and their squad isn't constructed in a way that will allow them to regularly win matches on the road. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Co. have also made a host of changes already, and none of them have helped them arrive at a reliable combination.

CSK's squad for IPL 2025: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rahul Tripathi, Shaik Rasheed, Deepak Hooda, Andre Siddarth, Devon Conway, MS Dhoni, Vansh Bedi, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, R Ashwin, Sam Curran, Rachin Ravindra, Vijay Shankar, Anshul Kamboj, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Noor Ahmad, Shreyas Gopal, Matheesha Pathirana, Khaleel Ahmed, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh, Nathan Ellis.

On that note, here is CSK's predicted playing XI, apart from a couple of impact player options, for Match 22 of IPL 2025.

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Openers: Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway

Rajasthan Royals v Chennai - Super Kings IPL 2023 T20 - Source: Getty

CSK brought in Devon Conway for Jamie Overton in the last game. The Kiwi opener, who has been out of sorts across formats, couldn't fire. But the franchise are likely to stick with him for now alongside Rachin Ravindra, who has also picked up two failures on the trot.

It's hard to see Chennai changing this all-New Zealand opening combination despite calls from certain quarters for captain Ruturaj Gaikwad to open the batting. Rahul Tripathi, meanwhile, seems to have lost the faith of the team management.

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Middle Order: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Vijay Shankar, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk)

Rajasthan Royals v Chennai - Super Kings IPL 2023 T20 - Source: Getty

Shivam Dube hasn't quite clicked yet, while Vijay Shankar labored along to a painful half-century in CSK's last game. The middle order is one of the team's biggest concerns, with virtually no depth and form.

Ravindra Jadeja's batting hasn't been impactful in many years, and his struggles against spin are so pronounced that it's foolish to bat him at No. 6. But that's just what the Super Kings are doing, with MS Dhoni, who displayed a complete lack of intent in the previous game, following him.

There's limited room for change in this department, especially for a team as old-fashioned in their ways as CSK.

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Lower Order: Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Matheesha Pathirana, Khaleel Ahmed

Rajasthan Royals v Delhi Capitals - IPL 2024 - Source: Getty

Ravichandran Ashwin has had a dreadful start to IPL 2025, with off-field controversies taking centerstage. The off-spinner needs to find his best form at a ground that could offer him and Noor Ahmad a bit of purchase if he puts revs on the ball.

Matheesha Pathirana and Khaleel Ahmed have been a couple of bright spots in the campaign, with the former slowly finding his best form at the death. They should retain their places in the side for this encounter.

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Impact Player Options - Rahul Tripathi, Shaik Rasheed, Anshul Kamboj

CSK started with Mukesh Choudhary in the last game, but the left-arm pacer didn't look anywhere near IPL material. They could sacrifice him after just one chance and bring in Anshul Kamboj, who had an excellent domestic season ahead of the tournament.

There are a couple of batting impact player options to lengthen that struggling department, but playing with just two fast bowlers - of which one is Pathirana - doesn't seem feasible.