Ruturaj will be a great captain: Fleming backs CSK skipper amid tough transition period

Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming has thrown his weight behind captain Ruturaj Gaikwad despite another disappointing IPL campaign, saying the young skipper is still developing and will eventually become a “great captain” for the franchise during the difficult transition period after the MS Dhoni era.

CSK’s playoff hopes were left hanging in the balance after a a five-wicket loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday. The defeat means that Chennai have to beat Gujarat Titans in their last league game and rely on other results to stay alive in the tournament.

Fleming, who backed the 29-year-old Gaikwad, said the opening team had made a difficult transition after taking over from one of the game’s greatest leaders.

“Ruturaj will go through it as part of his development. It’s a big transition from having one of the best captains in the cricket scene running the franchise for such a long time to a new captain,” Fleming said.

“So it’s going to take some time. And he’s doing a good job. He’s got a lot of respect in this group of players. And he’s always learning and putting it into play.”

“So going forward I have no doubt that he will be a great captain for this franchise,” he added.

Gaikwad endured a mixed season with the bat, scoring at an average of 29 with just two half-centuries in 13 matches. CSK have also struggled for consistency despite overhauling their squad after a disappointing 2025 season.

The franchise parted ways with several established names including Matheesha Pathirana, Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway while bringing in younger attacking players like Dewald Brevis, Ayush Mhatre and Urvil Patel. CSK also bolstered their top order with the signing of Sanju Samson, a move that saw veterans Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran depart the side.

Fleming admitted that the sweeping changes had disrupted the team’s rhythm and CSK had lagged behind other franchises at the start of the season.

“Yes, it was a challenge. We knew coming into the season we were a little bit behind other teams. We made a lot of changes halfway through the first year of the cycle and then we made more changes going into this year,” Fleming said.

“It would have been great to start well, but we started badly and just weren’t accurate enough.

Despite the setbacks, Fleming praised the side’s recovery and the emergence of several youngsters during the campaign.

“I was really proud to get back into the mix. There were some good performances from the players, these young players that came up,” he said.

The former New Zealand captain also pointed to injuries as a major factor behind CSK’s inconsistency and said the team had to change combinations repeatedly during the season.

“There was a style of cricket that we were developing and it worked. But we had injuries to key players which stopped the momentum a bit and made us uneasy that we had to keep changing the team,” explained Fleming.

He also revealed that Dhoni, despite not appearing in a single game due to a lingering calf strain, continued play a major role behind the scenes.

“I know it’s been talked about a lot, but WC was a lot this year, which was really important for the team, for a lot of young players in the continuity. So he was a big part. He didn’t play, but he still had a big impact on the team,” Fleming said.

On his own future after another underwhelming season, Fleming said the decision will ultimately rest with franchise management.

“We’ve done a lot of good things. We’ve introduced some new players who will hopefully be generational players for CSK, but I know we’re judged by results. So that’s the management’s challenge. Not mine,” he said.

– The end

Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

May 19, 2026 12:47 PM IST