It was a comment that Stephen Fleming might not have expected to come back to bite him so soon. After their match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, where they suffered the first of their eight defeats this season, Fleming was asked whether their structured way of constructing an innings – start slow, pick up pace and end with a flourish had become outdated. For the first time in 15 seasons as the head coach of the franchise, the usually composed Kiwi lost his cool. “You talk about firepower. We have got firepower all the way through. I don’t understand this question. Just because we don’t swing from ball No.1 and have some luck go our way, just see the end, who wins it. It is a positive brand of cricket. Don’t discount us.”
From that early summer night to peak summer now, with a month of still left, nobody is counting for the race to play-offs. They have become the first team to be eliminated. Since that defeat, Chennai have plummeted to several lows this season. First defeat to since 2008; from having never lost more than two matches in a succession at home, they are now winless in five consecutive fixtures at Chepauk; they have suffered their worst defeat at home; have ended up losing to for the first time in Chennai…the list could be endless by the time their campaign ends.
In each of the defeats that have followed, in several subsequent interactions with the media here, Fleming has spoken about the need to stick to their philosophy of playing with experienced players and even mentioning how concerning it is to watch young uncapped Indian batsmen striking from ball one and not learn the nuances of batting. But given how their season has panned out and how other franchises have benefitted from investing in uncapped gems who are winning games on their own with high-risk cricket, Fleming said ’s outcome this season could well force them into a re-think.
“I’m a believer that the game hasn’t evolved that much,” Fleming said at the end of their match against Hyderabad. “All around there is a bit of chaos, isn’t there, with teams playing well (by targeting boundaries and playing high-risk shots). And I think I said it in a grumpy interview a few weeks ago that we’ll see towards the end of the tournament which team will come through. And it’s an intriguing watch to see settled sides and teams with younger sort of flair battling it out and watching the cream rise. And I will watch with interest to see towards the end what the highest run-scorers are and what teams are doing well, because that’s part of the reflection as you move forward.”
It isn’t as if Fleming and Chennai have been too rigid. After failing to make the play-offs for the first time in 2020, they responded by bringing in players who will play bold cricket in the middle-overs and won the title in 2021. After failing to make the play-offs in 2022, in 2023, they chose to invest in batting depth and ended up winning the title again. However, as they fail to make the last-four in successive seasons, there are more pressing questions this time than ever before. This season, with just two wins thus far, came just after the big player auctions, which means even if Chennai intend to have a fresh look next season, who they will turn to remains a big question.
The chances of other franchises releasing the cream of Indian talents appears less, and so is the case with uncapped local players who have already carved a name for themselves. So it raises the question whether Chennai got it wrong with their five retentions and also with their picks at the auction table. First up, before the retention deadline, there were plenty of deliberations with regards to bringing in an alternate face for MS Dhoni, with being in the wish-list. But since they had Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Pant, the captain in demand elsewhere, they shifted their focus.
They then committed to , retaining him for a whopping Rs 18 crore, months after he announced retirement from T20Is. Even was retained for Rs 12 crore, when the likes of cost only Rs 14 crore.
And at the auction, having decided to put their faith in experienced players, they spent Rs 9.75 crore on Ashwin and Rs 10 crore on Noor Ahmad. It meant, Chennai couldn’t go after premier batsmen beyond a limit and were outbid for the likes of Rahul, Liam Livingstone, . In the end they had to settle for utility players in Rahul Tripathi, and in place of the specialists.
Behind the scenes at CSK, there are also questions as to how some of the young talents put forward by their talent scouts were not even considered at the auction table. At a time franchises are tapping on domestic T20 leagues for unknown talents, Chennai still appear reluctant to take the route. Priyansh Arya is the latest young talent that the franchise has missed out after he was recommended by their scouting team. In the past, Varun Chakaravarthy, Sai Sudharsan have all gone through their grasp. And beyond Dhoni, there isn’t a frontline wicketkeeper and at 43 still remains their go-to captain in moments of crisis.
“It is hard to say we got it completely right with the performances that we have had,” Fleming said of the auction. “And it is not easy. And that is why we are proud of our record today. We have been able to be consistent for so long and it doesn’t take much for it to go another way. Other teams have got better and that is the point of the auction. But we just haven’t been able to get it right.” Unless a drastic course-correction is done, the immediate future won’t change either.
