Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming has urged his players to hit the reset button and catch up with the latest trends as they bounce back from last year’s disappointing season in the Indian Premier League.
He insisted the team play well this time and return to their form. CSK happened to have bad luck for the past 3-4 years despite a glorious win in 2021. They had different approaches.
After winning the title in 2021, CSK finished ninth in the 2022 IPL of the 10-team tournament. This year’s IPL will be played home and away in a ‘bio-bubble’ for the first time in two years. The former New Zealand international skipper said his players will need to adapt quickly to the new ground conditions if they are to thrive this season.
“We have to get back in sync with the ground quickly and make sure our style of play matches the demands of the ground. So we’re going to work very hard on that.”
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Chennai Super Kings to play back at home
Fleming added that as IPL activity eventually returns to Chepauk, his team will do their best to maximize their advantage at home.
CSK has been bolstered by the addition of England Test skipper Ben Stokes, who was recently bought by the team for Rs 16.25 billion at his IPL auction in Kochi.
“It’s a great time now because we almost turned the stadium into a fortress at home. It was really hard for the team to come and play against us, but we worked hard. It was no coincidence. We have created a team that can specialize here. So I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved here,” Fleming said.
“So this had to be a strong home base for us. That alone, what we gave and the results we got came back tenfold from the crowd. And as our support has grown and our success has grown, it has truly become an absolute juggernaut of where to compete.”- Chennai Super Kings head coach.
Past struggles and future shines
For the past 3-4 years, CSK mostly placed themselves at the bottom positions of the table, though they had bounced to the top and won the IPL 2021. They had many doubts about the fitness of the players.
After Watson and Raina, the team was keep on checking for some good options. In the meantime, the team lost their rigidity in openers and was not able to store runs in the middle overs. They even had some loopholes in their bowling tracks.
In 2020, yellow was at the bottom of the table. CSK is one of the IPL teams with a huge fan base. In fact, CSK fans never missed showing their support. The love for yellow didn’t fall even after 2020. More than the practice and hard work the players put in, the never-lost love boosts them. They were the first to leave in 2020 and in 2021, became the first to be in the next stages and ultimately won the season.
In 2023, CSK looks really great with both batting and bowling line-ups. Sam Curran will be missed but Ben Stokes has been added. The team holds both young talents and huge experience. Hence, we could expect and wait for a spicy contest of IPL 2023.
