CSK Coach Stephen Fleming's Blunt Take On Jadeja-Dube's 'Conservative' Middle-Order Show

Head coach Stephen Fleming said Chennai Super Kings are “realistic” about their position in this year's Indian Premier League, but asserted that the five-time champions will leave no stone unturned to find players for next year. An out-of-sorts CSK suffered their sixth loss in eight matches after Mumbai Indians handed them nine-wicket hammering here on Sunday to keep the MS Dhoni-led side confined to the bottom of the points table.

ALSO READ | KKR vs GT IPL 2025 LIVE UPDATES and LIVE SCORE

CSK fought their way to 176/5 but it was not enough on a batting-friendly surface on which Rohit Sharma (76 not out) and Suryakumar Yadav (68 not out) put the visiting bowlers to sword.

“It is hard when you are playing below par to get enthusiastic about staying in the competition, but that is what we must do,” Fleming told the media.

Fleming said CSK think-tank will look to learn from such experiences from the past to turn around their fortunes. Fleming might have had in mind the turnaround his team effected in 2023 when they lifted the title after finishing ninth in 2022.

“Nothing will be wasted during this tournament, we will look back at other tournaments that have not gone our way and some of the work we have done at the back end of the tournaments that set us up for wins the following year," he said.

“We're realistic about the position that we're in, but there will be no stone unturned looking for players for next year, combinations for next year, and we'll see it as an opportunity,” he added.

Fleming continued, “(It is) not a great opportunity because we want to be at the pointy end of the competition but if it works out that there is no chance of us getting through (to the playoffs), we'll certainly make the most of it."

MI