Stephen Fleming reflects on CSK’s campaign in IPL 2023 amid various injuries

Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming admits that the multiple injuries in the squad have been affecting CSK’s campaign in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League. He, further, added that CSK is not the only team with fitness issues and they need to work around it.

Recently, pacer Sisanda Magala hurt his finger while taking Ravichandran Ashwin’s catch in CSK’s clash against Rajasthan Royals at the M.A Chidambaram stadium on Wednesday. The South African pacer will be missing from the action for at least two weeks, while Deepak Chahar picked up an injury in the preceding game against Mumbai Indians and is likely to sit out for a few weeks. Allrounder Ben Stokes has also missed recent matches due to fitness concerns.

“We have lost another player two games in a row and we are already pretty thin, so we would like it to stop. Magala’s hand was split unfortunately, so he was unable to bowl those last two overs. Same with Deepak Chahar in the last game. We are operating on thin resources,” said Fleming at the press conference after a game against RR.

“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. It’s not how we planned, but T20 rarely goes to plan. Chahar is out for a 2-3 weeks probably. Magala will be out for a couple of weeks. Ben Stokes, day-by-day he is improving. Matheesha Pathirana tested positive for Covid in New Zealand and has recovered. He’ll come into contention for the next game,” he further added.

‘We were sloppy in the field with some catches…’ – Fleming on CSK’s loss against RR.

The former New Zealand skipper also reflected on CSK’s performance after a loss against RR. He admitted that they were sloppy on the field.

“Extras, we were sloppy in the field with some catches going down, and little things like that are going to determine the result. We have had four games in four days, which have gone down to the last ball, which is pretty unique. It suggests the teams are very even, so little things on the day are going to matter,” said Fleming.

“They (RR) have got world-class spinners, with [Ravichandran] Ashwin, [Yuzvendra] Chahal and [Adam] Zampa working away. We knew it was going to be a grind like that. Some good hitting at the end got us close,” he added.