Fleming feels that the surfaces in Chennai are not so friendly with the turn as they used to be, and his team does not know what type of launch they are playing.
The chief coach of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Stephen Fleming, admitted that his team has not been able to read pitches correctly at home. Last night, CSK suffered a huge defeat of 50 races against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), organizing an abysmal show.
Fleming feels that the surfaces in Chennai are not so friendly with the turn as they used to be, and his team does not know what type of launch they are playing. The admission occurs after CSK built a heavy team and played three spinners in the first two games of India Premier League (IPL) 2025.
“Well, as we have been telling you for several years, there was no advantage in the home in Chepauk. We have won away from home a couple of times. And we have not been able to read … We have really been honest with you. We have not been able to read the Wickts here in recent years. Then, we have not tried to be new.
Except for Noor Ahmad, who took three wickts but was a bit expensive, the other two CSK tweakers, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadaja, had bad exits with the ball against RCB. The duo admitted 11.80 races for more while taking only a lonely wickt, and none finished its share.
Examine recent numbers in CSK’s home in recent IPL seasons
Since 2023, IPL has returned to its original home and away format, and the spinnings have caught 86 WICKETS to an average of 28.34 and leaked 7.61 races for more in Chepauk. CSK spinners have averaged 28.67, with an economy rate of 7.27 in this period.
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In the IPL 2018 and 2019, the spinners ruled out a batter every 19.52 deliveries and granted only 6.16 races for more in Chennai. Then, Fleming’s assumption is correct that the spinnings have not had enough help as was the case before, and the results have not been favoring.
Between 2018 and 2019, CSK won 77.77% of its games at home, but the number has been reduced to 64.70% since 2023. The teams such as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) have found a wide success here.
That CSK played three spinners in both games in IPL 2025 represents that they expected the ball to do more for slow bowling players, which did not happen, especially against RCB. He slowed down and seized the second tickets, but CSK decided to play first, showing his failure in reading conditions again.
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