He arrives months before the tournament begins. He does some nets in Ranchi, but his main pre-season is a month before he comes to Chennai, Fleming told reporters following CSK’s second defeat in four games this season.
Sandeep Sharma struck two perfect block-hole deliveries to lead the Royals to a hard-fought victory. Chasing 176, Dhoni (32) and Ravindra Jadeja (25) needed 21 runs off the final over.
CSK’s final score was 172/6, as Dhoni was unable to cap off his 200th game for CSK in the manner he would have preferred on home soil. Fleming, on the other hand, expressed confidence that the former India captain will recover well and continue to lead the team.
He’s getting back into match shape, and he’s still playing pretty well. As a result, we are always confident in his ability to manage himself. He always keeps himself up to date, Fleming said, assuaging concerns about Dhoni’s fitness.
Fleming said of Magala, who was forced to leave the field with a split webbing after bowling two overs, For us again, it’s losing another player u2014 that’s two games in a row u2014 and we’re already pretty thin, so we’d like it (injuries) to stop.
CSK’s list of injured players is growing by the day, with England all-rounder Ben Stokes missing the game due to a heel injury, while pacer Deepak Chahar has been ruled out of IPL 2023 due to a hamstring injury sustained during the match against Mumbai Indians.
Unfortunately, Magala’s hand was split, so he was unable to bowl the final two overs. And Deepak Chahar did the same in the previous game, so we’re working with limited resources. But we aren’t the only team with that.
I think a lot of players coming out of a big domestic season are a little bit broken, but we just keep having to find solutions, Fleming said. So, in the next four days, we’ll do that. However, it is far from ideal. If bowlers continue to be injured, the captain must think on his feet. Moeen Ali had to return (after Magala injured his webbing), and he hadn’t had a great day, but he did get (Jos) Buttler, which was good.
You’ve got young players like Akash (Singh) who is playing his first game and has to bowl some key overs. It’s not how we planned, but T20 rarely goes as planned, CSK coach added.
Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana, who tested positive for Covid-19 in New Zealand, has recovered and is available for selection, according to Fleming.
Chahar is on leave for a few weeks. Magala will be absent for two weeks. Stokes is being closely monitored on a daily basis. Matheesha Pathirana, a Sri Lankan pacer, tested positive for Covid-19 in New Zealand but has since recovered and is available for selection. We didn’t want to rush him back in time for the game.
Fleming was also harsh on the fielding. Extras, sloppy in the field with some catches going down, and small things on the day will matter as the competition tightens and small things like these will determine results. We lost steam in the middle, and their spinners performed admirably. We got close at the end thanks to some good hitting.
Dhoni had previously stated that his bowlers were giving away far too many runs in wides and no-balls. We faced a team that matched well, and it was a pretty good match. A three-run defeat was a fair reflection, Fleming added.
CSK’s next game is against Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 17 in Bengaluru.
