Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming has defended Sanju Samson following his slow start to the IPL 2026 season, saying the wicketkeeper-batter is currently "going through the process of connecting" with his new team after spending a long tenure with the Rajasthan Royals (RR).

Despite managed scores of 6, 7, and 9 in his first three outings, Fleming described Samson as "desperate" to find his rhythm and contribute alongside the team's senior players.

"It's difficult when you've been at a franchise (RR) for some time and even though he probably feels pretty comfortable there's still an element of belonging and he's going through the process of connecting with this team," Fleming told reporters after CSK’s 43-run loss to RCB at Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday (April 5).

"The team (CSK) has got five or six changes. So, it's not like it's a set team. There's a little bit of work to be done off the field that we're doing just to make the bonds a bit tighter but he's fine. He's fitted in really well. He's desperate for some runs and to contribute along with the senior players,” he added.

Fleming expressed confidence in Sanju’s abilities, referencing his successful campaign in the 2026 T20 World Cup as evidence of how dangerous he can be once he finds his form.

“We saw with his World Cup (campaign) what can happen and when a batter gets on a run he is one guy that can be very dangerous. So, there'll be nothing but support and confidence given from us to Sanju as he forges his path in yellow," the coach stated.

Fleming stressed the importance of staying patient with young CSK players such as Ayush Mhatre, who impressed with a fifty against PBKS but got out for 1 versus RCB.

"Yeah, it's a good balance, isn't it? You can see the talent but you are also going to accept that there are going to be mistakes. There's some huge talent and going forward it's going to be a really good core of Indian players, batters in particular.

"But you're going to get a little bit of inconsistency from some of the young players but you're also going to get some brilliance. He's got a pretty good mentor there with Mike Hussey who is a pretty good batting coach and understanding of the game.

"So, it's trying to marry that skill with a bit of game sense and that does take time but we'll be trying to get as much of that into these young players as possible but without stifling their natural ability," he explained.

The former New Zealand captain said Tim David's power-hitting and CSK bowlers' failure to execute plans led to their downfall against RCB

"The real turning point was Tim David in that last part, the acceleration through the last sort of five overs. If you look at the score, we were ahead of them up to about five overs to go and then they just went like a rocket, and that's really where the game was lost for us."

David took the CSK bowling attack to the cleaners with his blistering knock of 70 in just 25 balls, propelling RCB to a massive 250/3 in 20 overs.

"It was a tough night, we did some good things early on and then unfortunately just lost our shape in the backend the last four to five overs.

"If we'd just been able to hold our nerve and execute a bit better, a 210, 220 would have been in our grasp but we just got a little bit shell-shocked and that flowed through into the early parts of our batting as well," Fleming remarked.

(With PTI Inputs)