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

SRH’s Ishan Kishan plays a shot against CSK in the IPL 2026 match between Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, in Chennai on May 18, 2026.
| Photo Credit: B. Joti Ramalingam

Dhoni during CSK’s practice session ahead of their IPL match against SRH, at Chepauk in Chennai on May 17, 2026.
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

From left, Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Aniket Verma, Ishan Kishan and Travis Head during a practice session ahead of an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 T20 cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Eshan Malinga celebrates the wicket of Chennai Super Kings’ Sarfaraz Khan during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings in Hyderabad on April 18, 2026
| Photo Credit: Nagara Gopal

Chennai, Apr 14 (ANI): Chennai Super Kings’ head coach Stephen Fleming during a warm up session before the start of the Indian Premier League 2026 match against Kolkata Knight Riders at MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai on Tuesday. (ANI Photo)
| Photo Credit: ANI

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| Photo Credit: X/@BJP4Gujarat

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IPL-17: CSK vs SRH | Ruturaj, Mitchell and Deshpande sizzle as CSK trounces SRH

Ruturaj Gaikwad might have missed out on a well-deserved second consecutive ton, but the Chennai Super Kings skipper regaled the sell-out crowd with a scintillating 98 (54b, 10×4, 3×6) to set up a commanding 78-run win for his side over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Sunday. 

Ruturaj Gaikwad might have missed out on a well-deserved second consecutive ton, but the Chennai Super Kings skipper regaled the sell-out crowd with a scintillating 98 (54b, 10×4, 3×6) to set up a commanding 78-run win for his side over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Sunday.

The skipper was well supported by Daryl Mitchell (52, 32b, 7×4, 1×6), who finally found form as they combined to forge a 107-run stand for the second wicket. Later, Shivam Dube (39 n.o., 20b, 1×4, 4×6) gave the innings the final flourish as the Super Kings posted 212 for three.

In reply, Sunrisers’ chase stuttered from the beginning with Tushar Deshpande’s triple strike (three for 23) in the PowerPlay. Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma picked two sixes off his first three balls off the pacer, but Deshpande came back strongly to remove Head and Anmolpreet Singh off successive deliveries. In the next over, the he dismissed Abhishek, caught by Mitchell at deep-point, to rattle the visitors.

During the middle overs, Ravindra Jadeja dried up the runs with a miserly spell (one for 22). When Matheesha Pathirana pegged Aiden Markram’s middle-stump back with a searing yorker in the 11th over, SRH slumped to 85 for five from which it could never recover and was bowled out for 134.

Showing the way

Earlier, Ruturaj’s majestic knock set CSK on course for an imposing total after it was asked to bat first on a slow pitch.

Whether giving himself room to smash left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed inside-out, or slicing Bhuvneshwar Kumar behind point, or sending a copybook cover drive to the ropes, Ruturaj easily peppered the off-side fence.

At the other end, Mitchell slowly found his bearings and struck to his strength of going down the ground, with success — the best shot being a lofted six off Cummins over long-off as he got his maiden half-century.

Even as Ruturaj was tiring as he neared his century, Dube took the baton from his captain and smashed T. Natarajan for a couple of sixes to get going. The duo added 74 for the third wicket to power CSK past 200, which proved more than enough.

Scoreboard

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS

Ajinkya Rahane c Shahbaz b Bhuvneshwar 9 (12b, 1×4), Ruturaj Gaikwad c Nitish b Natarajan 98 (54b, 10×4, 3×6), Daryl Mitchell c Nitish b Unadkat 52 (32b, 7×4, 1×6), Shivam Dube (not out) 39 (20b, 1×4, 4×6), M.S. Dhoni (not out) 5 (2b, 1×4)

Extras: (b-1, lb-2, w-6): 9;

Total: (for three wkts. in 20 overs): 212.

FALL OF WICKETS

1-19 (Rahane, 2.5 overs), 2-126 (Mitchell, 13.3), 3-200 (Ruturaj, 19.2).

SUNRISERS BOWLING

Bhuvneshwar 4-0-38-1, Nitish 1-0-8-0, Shahbaz 3-0-33-0, Natarajan 4-0-43-1, Unadkat 4-0-38-1, Cummins 4-0-49-0.

SUNRISERS HYDERABAD

Travis Head c Mitchell b Deshpande 13 (7b, 1×4, 1×6), Abhishek Sharma c Mitchell b Deshpande 15 (9b, 1×4, 1×6), Anmolpreet Singh (Impact Player in place of Natarajan) c Moeen b Deshpande 0 (1b), Aiden Markram b Pathirana 32 (26b, 4×4), Nitish Reddy c Dhoni b Jadeja 15 (15b), Heinrich Klaasen c Mitchell b Pathirana 20 (21b, 1×6), Abdul Samad c (sub) Rizvi b Shardul 19 (18b, 1×4, 1×6), Shahbaz Ahmed c Mitchell b Mustafizur 7 (5b, 1×4), Pat Cummins c Mitchell b Deshpande 5 (7b, 1×4), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (not out) 4 (3b), Jaydev Unadkat c Moeen b Mustafizur 1 (2b)

Extras: (nb-1, w-2): 3

Total: (in 18.5 overs): 134.

FALL OF WICKETS

1-21 (Head, 1.5), 2-21 (Anmolpreet, 1.6), 3-40 (Abhishek, 3.5), 4-72 (Nitish, 8.5), 5-85 (Markram, 10.5), 6-117 (Klaasen, 15.5), 7-119 (Samad, 16.2), 8-124 (Cummins, 17.3), 9-132 (Shahbaz, 18.2).

SUPER KINGS BOWLING

Chahar 3-0-22-0, Deshpande 3-0-27-4, Mustafizur 2.5-0-19-2, Jadeja 4-0-22-1, Shardul (Impact Player in place of Dube) 4-0-27-1, Pathirana 2-0-17-2.

Toss: Sunrisers; PoM: Ruturaj.

CSK won by 78 runs.