MS Dhoni is widely regarded as one of the greatest captains in the history of cricket. Under his leadership, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have won five IPL titles and two Champions League titles.

Dhoni, 43, once again returned to CSK’s leadership role last week after elbow injury ruled regular skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad out of the remaining IPL 2025 season. However, the veteran wicketkeeper failed to change Chennai’s fortunes as the five-time champions lost to KKR at Chepauk.

Ahead of CSK’s next encounter against LSG in Lucknow, head coach Stephen Fleming clarified that Dhoni’s return to captaincy doesn’t guarantee success in the future.

Fleming remains well aware of the challenge that lies ahead for the franchise if they are to make the playoffs. They are currently languishing at the bottom of the 10-team points table.

“It’s a big challenge, there’s no doubt about it. So we’ve got to look at it in small steps and just continue to work to get better at all three facets, really, and then you start competing. I think the disappointing aspect, in particular the last game, was the lack of competition we put up, and that hurt a lot," Fleming said, as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Fleming admitted that the side is still discovering its identity and he wants them to be a team that represents the brand that they have been for the past few years.

“So there’s certainly been a lot of internal soul searching, but also a lot of work around what we need to do. And it’s important that we put a performance out that is representative of the proud franchise that we are. So yeah, there’s a lot of hurt that we can turn to motivation, but it’s not about words, it’s about players grabbing the moment, finding form, finding their groove, and almost shaking off any apprehension which can creep in when you’re just searching for a performance," he added.

Commenting on Dhoni’s influence, Fleming suggested that he will have a big say, but it’s not practical to expect him to completely turn things around as a collective effort is required in the next few games.

“Dhoni’s influence will always be prominent, but he’s not a soothsayer, he hasn’t got a magic wand, he can’t just rub it over the side, otherwise he would have brought it out earlier. It’s a case of us working very hard along with MS to turn it around," the coach stated.

“And certainly in both of our careers we’ve been in situations that require a lot of energy, and we’ve got to make sure that the energy is put in the right place. Often, you can get consumed with things that actually don’t matter. So drawing it all down and just making sure we’re concentrating on the right things has probably been the key for the last couple of days," he further remarked.