"Fitting That We Are Bottom": CSK Coach Stephen Fleming Spares No One At Press Conference

In a candid admission of their pathetic run this IPL season, Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming said they deserve to finish at the bottom of the table but promised to come back with “strong ideas”. One of the most consistent sides in the popular league, five-time champions CSK are set to finish last behind Rajasthan Royals to whom they lost by six wickets on Tuesday in their penultimate IPL clash this season.

It is not a sight cricket fans are used to considering CSK’s tremendous success in the past.

“No, we don’t obviously like being down here, but it’s not a motivation. We wanted just a good performance. We’re trying to string some performances together. The aim was two good performances (in last two matches).

“Now it’ll be one good one to finish. It’s probably fitting that we’re at the bottom. We’ve played that type of cricket, so you can’t hide away from it,” Fleming said after the match.

The New Zealander said they know the road ahead and failure of top-order batters has played huge role in the ordinary run.

“Our order is not right at this stage, and that is something that we are always looking to reshuffle. We’ve got some strong ideas for next year, so all those facets are covered. But that hasn’t been possible this year because of the lack of runs at the top.

“A lot of the batting positions are determined by how well a start we have, and then guys can fall into line. We haven’t had that. So we’ve been just patching innings up, really, rather than constructing good innings,” he explained the reason behind the wretched run.

Pacer Anshul Kamboj has managed to impress this season with his pace and Fleming feels he will be a good asset for India after his selection in A side for the England tour.

“His speeds have been around 138, 139 (kph). He is deceptive and the ball always seems to hit the gloves harder. His big strength is his length and he just gets the ball to wobble. You saw that today on a reasonably flat wicket and he’ll do well on that tour (of England) if he gets conditions that seam a bit and a little bit of swing.

“He’ll be an absolute handful. He has got some real potential with both white and red ball. We’re happy with his development and the opportunity he has taken this year.” The former Kiwi captain also spoke highly of pacer Matheesha Pathirana but said the Lankan needs to improve further.

“We have high expectations of him, which is why we retained him. But he is coming back into some form. He was really out of form. He’s made improvements, but it’s still not to where we or he would like. So there’s some room for him to get some form and get some confidence. But he’s just at that crossroads where batsmen are playing him better.” In his last 10 IPL matches he managed 10 wickets, and went wicketless in five contest.

“They’ve seen more of him. So now he just has to drill down on what he needs to do to be as effective as what he’s been for the first part of his career. It’s a unique skill set, but it’s been a little bit off,” he said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)