Chennai Super Kings suffered a 44-run defeat last night against Delhi Capitals after they failed to chase down the total of 176 scored by Delhi in the first innings. Even as Dhoni admitted during the post match presentation that the team was lacking steam in the batting department, CSK supporters have been desperately hoping for the return of Suresh Raina, who happens to be Chennai's highest run-scorer. However, the CEO of Chennai Super Kings, Kasi Viswanathan, has ruled out the possibility of Raina's return this year, stating that the management has to respect the batsman's decision and space.

"See, we cannot look at Raina because he made himself unavailable and we respect his decision and his space. We are not thinking about it. We have been blessed with some of the best fans in the cricketing world and I can assure them that we will bounce back strongly. It is a game and you have your good days and bad days. But the boys know what they need to do and the smiles will be back. Like I told you last day (before the Delhi Capitals game), he would miss one game at worst. He is fit and ready for the next game," Kasi Viswanathan said, as quoted by a news agency. Admitting that the batting is currently muddled in the absence of key players, coach Stephen Fleming said, "We are a bit muddled at the moment, we are missing some key players and are trying to find a balance that allows us to be competitive. Again it comes to the spin bowling aspect, we are looking to develop a personality on the type of pitches we are getting. We are trying to find a combination without Raina and Rayudu. The performance against Delhi was on the weaker side in terms of intent. It has been an interesting six days and now we have the time to rectify the issues and there are a few of them."

Chennai Super Kings will be taking on the Sunrisers Hyderabad in their upcoming match on October 2 at the Dubai International Stadium. Dhoni confirmed during the post-match presentation that Ambati Rayudu will be returning to the team for the match.