Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming revealed that legendary wicketkeeper batter MS Dhoni understood the team's situation and had no hesitation to step in as captain after Rututaj Gaikwad got ruled out of the entire Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025) due to an elbow injury.
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00:00Yeah, just before we start, unfortunately, Ruduraj Gaikwad is going to be ruled out of the tournament.
00:05He got hit in Guwahati.
00:08He's been operating with an amount of pain we got at x-rayed, which was inconclusive,
00:13and we had an MRI which revealed a fracture in his elbow, in the radial neck.
00:18So we're disappointed and feel for him.
00:22We appreciate the efforts that he's gone to in terms of trying to play,
00:25but unfortunately he'd be out of the tournament from now.
00:28We have an unkept player, M.S. Stoney, who will take over as captain for the remainder of the IPL.
00:37When I read out the last game that you were happy with our batting,
00:41the top order clicked and they showed some interest.
00:44And also saw that they weren't happy with our bowling.
00:46Do you think it's not high time our senior bowlers take responsibility and try to arrest a slide?
00:53What is your message to your bowling attack?
00:55It's actually a really hard one to give because we're doing some good things.
00:59We had them fire for, what, 190-odd?
01:02100?
01:04And then we had mishaps in the field, which I think let them off the hook.
01:08And we saw fine innings from a young player who had the night of his life.
01:13But we had opportunities throughout.
01:15So on one hand, you look at the bowling and say, we could have solved the problem a little bit quicker.
01:21But we created chances.
01:23And if it's not one area, it's another.
01:25And that tends to dog you when you're pushing for form.
01:27But the fielding has been an issue throughout the season, the amount of catches.
01:32And, again, I think that played a part in our defeat.
01:36Only 18 runs.
01:37But just a little bit sloppy.
01:38So we're working hard on that.
01:40We're working hard on all areas.
01:41And, look, we're not that far away.
01:43And that's the frustrating thing.
01:45But it has to click.
01:46You're right.
01:50Hi, Flemm Lake.
01:52Ashwin sort of had a mixed tournament, like, last match.
01:54Also, his two overs in between are brilliant.
01:56But then either side of it, there are a few runs.
01:58And him bowling at the power play this season with batters coming at him, like, has been difficult as well.
02:03Is that something on the back of your mind as well?
02:04And also different finger spinners, like Tikshana you've worked with yesterday, conceded a lot of runs as well.
02:09So how do you sort of manage and sort of get the best out of the spinners?
02:12Yeah, tough over.
02:13That sixth over is a tough over.
02:15So don't underestimate that role that he's playing.
02:19And after that, he came back really well.
02:21I think the last couple of overs went for single figures.
02:25So we're asking him to do a tough role.
02:27But what we are doing is taking wickets.
02:30And that's been the positive thing.
02:31We felt we've actually restricted teams to below-par scores.
02:35And it's been the batting that has held us up on this occasion.
02:38I think it's really only one innings.
02:39If you went through that batting order in the last game and you said you were going to get five of those players for single figures,
02:47including Stoinis, Iron, Maxwell, you're pretty happy.
02:51It's just that we struck a young man who had the night of his life and we weren't able to shut him down.
02:56But going back to Ashwin, yeah, tough overs.
02:58But he's doing a good job for us.
03:01The overs after that are really good, keeping us in the game and allowing our second half of our innings to be effective.
03:08Hi, Flemm.
03:09If you look at the last four losses, it has come in chases.
03:13And is the team probably keeping too much for the last four or five overs?
03:17Do you think between overs 11 and 15, probably a touch slower than what the required rate should be?
03:23Yeah, not intentional.
03:25I think there was two good overs from Ashdeep Singh and Lachie Ferguson.
03:29Nothing intentional about that.
03:30They were just good overs.
03:31That can happen during a high run chase, over 200.
03:36Look, we're not trying to leave too much.
03:37But whether it's good bowling or we lose wickets at the wrong time, which happened in Guwahati, it's just holding us back.
03:45We really need someone to be 100 or match what the opposition have done.
03:50It probably wouldn't hurt batting first for once in this tournament as well because it sort of breaks the trend that we're in.
03:57But I keep stressing, we're not that far away.
03:59We played a lot better the other day and we're, what, 18 runs short given the clumsiness in the field.
04:05And we've just got to smarten up on some little things, it's all.
04:11Flemm, we are used to seeing that Jadeja's four overs is a bit of a bank.
04:16So in a situation like this, this year, do you think he has, he's been slightly under-bowled?
04:22Like he has bowled two overs, three overs, hasn't completed his quota in any of the five matches.
04:28And now that Ruturaj is out, could there be a case of like probably not up at three but maybe four or something to use his experience because his batting also sometimes goes slightly underutilized?
04:41Yeah, I think we've got some good options with the spin department.
04:46So Ruturaj has been able to use the appropriate bowlers for the batsmen that are in and some, he bowled really well, Jadeja in the last game.
04:54Noor Ahmed has been the key wicket taker so he's dominated to this point and it just starts early on.
05:00So we've sort of got six bowlers that can provide good options throughout.
05:08Batting-wise, he's moving up and down the order depending on what we need.
05:12We really like his partnership with MS at the back ends, that appeals to us.
05:18And there are other players in the squad that we've highlighted to be up the order.
05:22But he's been up to number five, I think he's been in early and throughout.
05:27So just trying to get a gauge on who's to bowl death, who's in the middle and work it around that way.
05:33It's not a set stage that Jadu has to come in.
05:36We're quite flexible with that.
05:39Coach, was MS immediately receptive to the idea of taking over and any word he had on replacements?
05:46Yeah, he was.
05:47He understands that the team is in need at the moment just as Ruturaj didn't want to go.
05:51And so he had no hesitation to step up and help guide us out of this if we can.
05:58So, yeah, that was never in doubt.
06:00Replacements, we'll look at.
06:02We've got some good players in the squad that have been with us a while.
06:05So we'll look from within first.
06:07But, yeah, there is an opportunity to see how we can enhance the squad probably moving forward into subsequent years.
06:13Flam, just continuing from what he asked, having six bowlers in a tweet review, does it make it a bit tough for the captain to rotate, get the right bowler at the right stage of the game?
06:25And also, do you feel you probably then sacrifice a batting depth in that case, especially when you have someone like Rachin or Vijay Shankar who can turn in one or two overs now and then if needed upon?
06:36Yeah, you've got to be really careful because batting has dominated this IPL and if you use Rachin, I'm not being disrespectful, it's part-time spin.
06:47So having six options when scores are around 200, 220, we've been able to keep them, apart from the last game, down to 180 because we've had really, really good options at the right time.
06:58And it's quite sort of specific planning with that.
07:00Yep, we might have given up maybe a spot, but Jadu, obviously the all-rounder aspect to it has allowed us to still keep a long batting order.
07:09But it's our view that bowling is under pressure, so having the six options to try and stop some of these onslaughts has been the key for us so far in games.