Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming on Sunday (May 12) after the one-run loss in the final against Mumbai Indians (MI) indicated that his team will be rebuilding its "ageing squad" before the next season.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led CSK had a consistent run through to the tournament final with nine wins in the league stage allowing the team to finish second in the points table before it dominated the Qualifier 2 versus Delhi Capitals (DC). However, it must be pointed out there were definitely areas of concerns for CSK, including its batting unit and the fielding.
"We will give some time for the dust to settle down. I think if you win one title and reach the final next time, you have had a good two years. We do understand that we are an ageing team. So at some point, we just have to look at recreating the side, obviously MS as well," said Fleming at the post-match press conference.
Defending champions CSK had a squad with an average age of 34 in its core group. The planning for the next season, as skipper Dhoni signalled and Fleming reiterated, will begin after the upcoming ODI World Cup in UK and then a new pool of talent might be created. "He (Dhoni) will be travelling to the World Cup. A lot of talent has been established in other teams. You need to do it carefully and get the balance right when you try to go for players who you think can deliver for us."
Dhoni struck 416 runs at an average of 83.20 and a strike-rate of 134.63 in his 12 innings this season apart from leading his troops brilliantly and showing no signs of wear and tear with his glovework, especially to spinners, who also delivered some game-changing performances on a turning track at Chepauk and then in Vizag. These were the two positives.
"This year in Chennai was tough (turning track), the conditions were tough to read, hard to play. A little bit of training as well, our batters weren’t big enough from the form point of view," Fleming added.
"If we look at the aggregate of numbers from our top order, we could have liked a bit more. Batting certainly was a weak part of our game this season, there is a lot of work to do."
"But at the same time, how much more do you need? We got to the final, we went till the last ball. Of course, we didn’t have a good season with the bat. But there was never a lack of effort," he concluded.
(Inputs from Hindustan Times)
