Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming expressed confidence in Ruturaj Gaikwad despite his recent batting woes. Stephen Fleming praised Ruturaj Gaikwad’s captaincy and stressed that fluctuations in performance are normal in a long tournament.
Ruturaj Gaikwad was named captain of the Chennai-based franchise just a day before the first match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Gaikwad, replacing MS Dhoni, led the team to consecutive victories in their first two matches of the season .
However, the CSK team suffered a 21-run defeat in their third match against the Delhi Capitals (DC) in Visakhapatnam on Sunday, March 31. The CSK captain misfired with the bat and was dismissed for just one run off Khaleel Ahmed’s bowling in the first over.
Ruturaj Gaikwad is going to have ups and downs – Stephen Fleming
In the post-match conference, Stephen Fleming expressed his confidence in Ruturaj Gaikwad’s abilities and leadership. He highlighted the team’s support for Gaikwad’s transition and emphasized the role of MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja in helping him.
“I am not worried about Ruturaj Gaikwad’s batting. It’s going to have ups and downs, it’s a long tournament. He basically wants to get runs every time, but he doesn’t care. His captaincy was very good today. The transition and work are not easy, but he has done it without problems. MS remains an important part of the decision-making process. And he, along with Jadeja, are helping Gaikwad in any way they can,” Fleming said.
The 27-year-old opener struggled with the bat in the first three games. The right-handed batsman scored 62 runs in three innings at an average of 20.67 and a disappointing strike rate of 116.98. He scored 46 runs off 36 deliveries against the Gujarat Titans.
We thought we had retired it – Stephen Fleming
Stephen Fleming pointed out that Chennai Super Kings’ defeat was largely due to their poor performance in the first six overs of each innings. Fleming acknowledged the Delhi Capitals’ effective use of the conditions and praised their bowling.
“I think the result is a clear description of the teams that played tonight, we were a little off tonight. We were slow to start, in the first six overs of each innings, we gave too many in the first six we bowled on either side of the wicket. They played well. When we batted, they (DC bowling) were very good, they created pressure and took advantage of the conditions very well.”