Chennai Super Kings’ head coach Stephen Fleming acknowledged that Ruturaj Gaikwad is still a work in progress as captain after the side’s playoff hopes in the ongoing IPL were left massively dented by a loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai.
CSK suffered a five-wicket defeat to SRH on Monday (May 18, 2026), leaving their playoff hopes dependent on a complex set of mathematical possibilities.
They now face a must-win final league game against Gujarat Titans on Thursday (May 21), while depending on other results to fall in their favour. SRH, on the other hand, sealed their playoff berth on Tuesday night.
“Ruturaj will be going through that (transition) as part of his development. It’s a big transition from having one of the best captains (in MS Dhoni) at cricket scene running the franchise for such a long time to a new captain,” Fleming said of 29-year-old Gaikwad, who has been CSK skipper for three seasons.
“So it’s going to take a little bit of time. And he’s doing a good job. He has a massive amount of respect with this group of players. And he’s learning all the time and putting that into play.
“So going forward, I have no doubt he’ll be a fine captain for this franchise,” added the New Zealander.
Gaikwad is averaging a modest 29 this season, managing only two half centuries in the 13 matches so far.
Fleming said the season has not been kind to the team, conceding that it was already a step behind other sides due to the changes made over the past year.
CSK overhauled their squad following a disappointing 2025 season, releasing mainstays such as Matheesha Pathirana, Rachin Ravindra, and Devon Conway, while bringing in young, attacking talent, including Dewald Brevis, Ayush Mhatre, and Urvil Patel.
Rajasthan Royals’ Sanju Samson was brought in to strengthen the top order, a move that necessitated parting ways with stalwart Ravindra Jadeja and overseas all-rounder Sam Curran.
“Yeah, it’s been a challenge, we knew coming into the season we were a little bit behind in terms of other teams. We had made a lot of changes halfway through the first year of the cycle and then we made more changes going into this year.
“It would have been great to have started well, but we started poorly…and we just haven’t been accurate enough.” Fleming, however, said he was pleased that the team had fought back after a poor start to the season.
“And then I was really proud of the recovery… to get back into the mix was really satisfying. There’s some good performances from players, these young players that have emerged.” He said the team’s rebuilding and change in strategy were also affected by injuries to several players, which halted the momentum.
“There was a style of cricket that we were developing that was working. But we had injuries to key players, which sort of stopped a bit of momentum and made us a little bit unsettled in terms of having to keep changing the team.
“Our performances under pressure in the last couple of games just haven’t been quite up to it. If we’d been a little bit more accurate, a little bit more positive, then things could have been different.
Fleming said that the presence of Dhoni in the dugout, despite him not featuring in a single game while recovering from a lingering calf strain, has been a source of motivation.
“I know there’s been a lot of talk about it (when Dhoni will play), but MS has been around a lot this year, which has been really important for the team, for a lot of young players in continuity. So he’s been a big part. He hasn’t played, but he’s still had a big influence on the team.”
Speaking about his future after another underwhelming season, the long-standing CSK coach said it was for the management to decide.
“There’s a lot of good things we’ve done. We’ve introduced some new players that will be hopefully generation players for CSK, but I know we’re judged on results. So, that’s a management call. Not mine.”
Published – May 19, 2026 12:21 pm IST
