Which team suffered most from lack of home advantage?


IPL 2023 Winner

The team that suffered the most from the lack of home advantage during IPL editions held abroad — particularly in IPL 2020 (UAE) — was Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

🧨 Why CSK Struggled Without Chepauk:

🏠 Heavily Built for Chennai Conditions

  • Their squad was constructed around slow, turning pitches at Chepauk.

  • Spinners like Imran Tahir, Ravindra Jadeja, and Piyush Chawla were expected to thrive — but UAE tracks, while slow, didn’t assist spin in the same way.

🧓 Aging Squad

  • CSK had the oldest average squad age.

  • Without the home crowd energy and familiar conditions, they lacked momentum.

🚫 Injuries and Withdrawals

  • Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh opted out before the tournament.

  • Their absence created a void in middle-order stability and spin department.

🐢 Slow Starts, Slower Finishes

  • They struggled to chase totals, with low strike rates and conservative approaches not suiting Sharjah’s fast-paced batting-friendly conditions or Abu Dhabi’s sluggish middle overs.

📉 2020 Outcome

  • Finished 7th — their worst ever finish at that point.

  • Failed to qualify for playoffs for the first time in IPL history.

👎 Other Teams Affected (but not as much):

  • SRH in 2021 (UAE leg): Lost form completely, finished last.

  • KKR in 2020: Struggled to find the right combination but improved in 2021.

So in short:
➡️ CSK suffered the most in 2020 UAE due to lack of home spin advantage, aging core, and disrupted preparations.

Want to compare how CSK bounced back in 2021 with the same UAE venues?