IPL 2018: Stephen Fleming gives major updates on CSK team combination for season opener

The Chennai Super Kings are all set to make their comeback on the IPL roster. They will lock horns with the defending champions Mumbai Indians in the season opener. Ahead of the marquee clash, the head coach of the franchise, Stephen Fleming, has remarked that the key strength of the team is their experienced squad.

Earlier, there were several critics who mocked the CSK camp for choosing senior players ahead of the young guns. Now, as per the recent quotes in Sportstarlive, Stephen Fleming noted that it is often the experienced players who win games for their sides.

He added that only on rare occasions the young guns step up and take the anchoring role. The likes of Rashid Khan and Washington Sundar are the few exceptions. Fleming is very optimistic about the senior players like Shane Watson, MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, and Dwayne Bravo performing well for the team in the season.

“There is always a plan B (if the selection backfires), I value experience and I always have. If a professional player is in shape and performing well, he is a valuable asset. You don’t see young players come out and make a mark that often. People talk about it but very rarely, a young player has come out and scored the most runs. I am not too sure. Rashid Khan and Washington Sundar are exceptions, there is only a handful. The experienced players play a major part in all tournaments,” Stephen Fleming quoted.

“Bravo (Dwayne), Watson (Shane) are competing well. Harbhajan Singh has a good skill-set and M.S. Dhoni is a fine leader. They all look very good,” he added.

On the playing combinations

Speaking further on other lines, Stephen Fleming spoke about the team combinations. He revealed that Faf du Plessis will miss the season opener. The South African skipper is yet to fully recover from the injuries he has sustained this summer. Also, he added that the likes of Lungi Ngidi and Mark Wood have just joined the squad. The team is yet to take a call on their participation in the first match.

“He won’t play tomorrow. He has got a couple of injuries he had throughout the summer. He needs a little bit of time. It was tough for him but he is positive to play and be fit for the majority of the tournament,” Fleming revealed.

“We had guys coming in last night. Mark Wood and Lungi Ngidi just joined the training. It is still a part of our discussions. These people are all meeting for the first time and the skills are being seen for the first time too. We still have a lot of work to do,” he added.

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