Stephen Fleming opens up on challenges of playing at Chepauk ahead of IPL 2023

Former India skipper MS Dhoni is the face of Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, since the inception of the tournament. He has led the team to four championship titles at the IPL, the most recent one being the 2021 edition. But one other personality, who has played a crucial role in CSK’s success is Stephen Fleming.

Fleming has been a core part of CSK’s setup and has trained the players in the best way possible. The tournament was shifted to the UAE due to the Covid-19 virus outbreak in India. It returned to India in 2021, but had to be halted midway due to the same reason as the second half of the tournament was played in the UAE again.

The entire 2022 edition of the tournament, finally, was played in India but the home and away format was not followed, so as to keep the players restricted from traveling much amid the pandemic. The 16th edition of the IPL will see the home and away format, and games will finally be played at Chepauk, CSK’s home ground.

We quickly have to get back into sync with the ground: Fleming

The players haven’t played an IPL match at the venue in three years, and it is surely going to be a challenge for many, especially the young bunch. In a video shared by the franchise on their YouTube channel, Stephen Fleming shared his thoughts on playing the upcoming edition in Chennai, as he said:

“We have to really play well, and we have to reteach the team how to play. We've had three or four years almost where we've been away, so our style of play has changed. So, we quickly have to get back into sync with the ground and make sure that the style of play we play represents what the ground's asking. And, we'll do that and we need to do it quickly. So, we'll work very hard on that.”

CSK had a good outing at the recently concluded IPL 2023 Auction and their biggest move was to get England all-rounder Ben Stokes to their side. The upcoming edition will see quite a few new faces in the team as the four-time champions will aim for their fifth title.