Irfan Pathan Calls Chennai Super Kings’ Biggest Problem, Slams Noor Ahmed’s Form

The Chennai Super Kings are struggling in the IPL 2026. The five-time champions have won none of their first three games and are now sitting at the bottom of the points table. Observing the current situation of the team, former Indian all-round bowler Irfan Pathan pointed out that Noor Ahmed is the main reason behind the poor performance of CSK. 

Noor Ahmed was one of the best players of the CSK team in the previous season, but this time his performance hasn't been impressive. The left-arm spinner has failed to take a wicket in the first three games and has conceded a lot of runs. In particular, Noor Ahmed had a bad match against RCB when Rajat Patidar and Tim David smashed him.

Pathan said that Noor Ahmed is CSK's biggest problem at the moment. He has bowled around 10 overs this season and conceded over 100 runs, yet he hasn't taken a single wicket. I believe that if he corrects the angle of his run-up, his body alignment will improve. His arm, which tends to lean to one side, will also straighten.

Irfan also expressed disappointment with Matt Henry. He said that the experienced fast bowler hasn't performed as expected so far. Henry conceded 36 runs in three overs against RCB and failed to take a wicket. He has looked ineffective throughout the tournament.

He further said that Matt Henry has a lot of experience. He has performed well in the past and has a good economy rate, but he hasn't been able to perform like that in this league. An experienced bowler doesn't bowl half-volleys. Anshul Kamboj bowled a bouncer after seeing Virat Kohli step out of his crease, dismissing him. Meanwhile, Matt Henry bowled a full delivery even after seeing him step out of his crease.

The former all-rounder also pointed out some flaws in CSK's strategy. These flaws were related to the strategy adopted against Tim David. David played a key role in RCB's massive 250/3 by scoring an unbeaten 70 off 25 balls. He said that David usually stands outside the leg stump. Therefore, bowling on the off stump gives him more room to play.

If a bowler thinks that bowling on the off stump will not give him room, he is actually giving him more room. You have to bowl at middle and leg stump, otherwise he'll hit you hard. You can contain him early, which Chennai didn't do, and they took full advantage of it.