When was the last time CSK lost their opening two matches of a season before IPL 2026? 

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have begun their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 campaign on a horrid note, with successive demoralising defeats. The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side were outplayed by both the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the Punjab Kings (PBKS), and find themselves at the bottom of the table with no points in the early stages of the campaign.

The five-time winners are certainly in unfamiliar territory as they are not accustomed to beginning their campaign with twin losses, especially since they have a home game at the start to capitalise upon. However, after the recent loss to the Shreyas Iyer-led side at the Chepauk, CSK have recorded two losses on the trot at the very start of the campaign for just the second time.

The last time this pattern was observed was during the infamous 2022 season, where CSK slumped to twin losses in the early days of Ravindra Jadeja’s captaincy. On that occasion, the franchise had lost to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the opening match of the season at the Wankhede Stadium, before losing a high-scoring thriller to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Brabourne Stadium.

The initial losing streak had spanned four games that season for CSK, as they had followed it up with massive losses against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) and the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). The 2022 edition ended up being a nightmare for the franchise as they finished ninth on the points table, with Ravindra Jadeja losing his captaincy midway through the campaign.

“That gives us a lot of confidence going forward” – CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad after successive losses to kick-start IPL 2026 season

CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad remains optimistic despite concerning losses right at the start of the campaign. The franchise failed to counter challenging conditions in their season opener against RR, followed by a dismal bowling display against PBKS that allowed them to chase down 210, relatively easily.

“It’s a tough loss, no doubt, but there are plenty of positives. The batting unit performed really well—Ayush played a brilliant knock, and Shivam also contributed strongly. That gives us a lot of confidence going forward, even though there’s work to be done with the bowling,” Gaikwad said during the post-match presentation in Chennai.

CSK have a massive challenge lined up next as they face the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, on Sunday, April 5.