CSK Playoffs List: How Many Times Has MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings Played IPL Final?

A win in their final league match against Delhi Capitals in the ongoing 16th season of the Indian Premier League has meant that Chennai Super Kings have finished at the second spot on the points table, thereby securing their berth in the playoffs.

The four-time IPL champions have now made it to the playoffs 12 times out of 14 seasons, and have further stamped their authority as the most successful franchise in the coveted league with respect to maximum number of playoffs appearances.

Apart from the 2020 IPL edition (when they finished seventh) and the 2022 season (when they finished ninth), CSK have been among the Top Four teams on the points table each year, except in 2016 and 2017 when they had suffered a ban from partaking in the league.

How Many Times Has MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings Played IPL Final?

Super Kings have made it to the grand finale of an IPL season a total of nine times across 15 complete seasons. Having lifted the title during the 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2021 editions, the ‘Yellow Army’ ended up losing the final five times.

They had lost the final matches against Rajasthan Royals (2008), Kolkata Knight Riders (2012), and against Mumbai Indians three times around during the 2013, 2015, and 2017 editions of the league.

It is worth of a mention that the playoffs system to determine the title holder has been in place only since the 2011 IPL season. During the initial three seasons, four teams used to qualify for the semi-final stage and the winners of those two semi-final fixtures locked horns against each other in the final.

CSK Playoffs List

The below list also includes CSK’s two knockout stage appearances during the inaugural season (in 2008) when they had finished second, and the 2010 season when they had lifted the IPL title for the first time.

IPL season	Result
2008	Runners-up
2009	Semi-final
2010	Winner
2011	Winner
2012	Runners-up
2013	Runners-up
2014	3rd
2015	Runners-up
2016	Suspended
2017	Suspended
2018	Winner
2019	Runners-up
2020	7th
2021	Winner
2022	9th
2023	Qualified for Playoffs

NOTE: Top Four teams in the points table after the end of league stage qualify for the playoffs.