NEW DELHI: Former New Zealand captain and Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming believes his team has the resources to defend the IPL title. He is also pleased with the way captain MS Dhoni has been playing over the last 10 months for India and made it clear that the veteran will continue to bat at No 4 for his team.
Fleming, Kedar Jadhav and CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan were speaking at a programme to launch a new range of team merchandise on Wednesday. “Dhoni batted pretty much at No 4 last year, but we use him in a flexible role also. That won’t change. His form has been outstanding in the last 10 months,” said Fleming.
Dhoni batting in that position will be crucial, considering that the No 4 spot in the Indian team is up for grabs. With the World Cup coming up, Dhoni doing well in the pivotal spot in IPL games might make the Indian team management think afresh.
Fleming felt Jadhav’s return will increase the team’s strength. “We have Jadhav as well which is great. We’re happy with the batting order and the thoughts around that. Our challenge is to win again. It’s difficult, takes a lot of things to work for you.”
Pundits have said that despite being on the aged side, CSK is perhaps the most balanced outfit, with experience in every department. Fleming said he doesn’t compare his side’s strength with others. “We tend not to do it (compare). If you start looking at others, you’re trapped. There’s enough great players in each side, so it comes down to mindset, team environment, culture and winning the big moments. We have said we prefer experienced players because they identify big moments and last year they won them. That’s our challenge again. We back our players, so there’s not a lot of change in our side and we work hard on our relationships and one-on-one coaching rather than re-buying a team every year,’’ opined Fleming.
Jadhav said with an eye on the World Cup, he will focus on the immediate challenge, which is the IPL. “Every cricketer’s dream is to play in a World Cup. I am no different. For the next two months, my focus will be on the IPL. I love the environment and the culture here. Even though I was here only for about 10 days (last season), I enjoyed my time. I am hopeful that we will win it again this year. I am looking forward to playing all the matches,” said the 33-year-old, who was out of the IPL with a hamstring injury after the first match.