Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming has thrown his weight behind captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, but conceded that he could ‘do more’ after his underwhelming performances in the Indian Premier League 2026. Gaikwad had set the stage alight in his early CSK years, but hasn’t had the same success this time around, having been caught in something that hasn’t let him flow freely.ย
Gaikwad is not known to be a serial six-hitter like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi or Priyansh Arya, but his classical play can keep him striking in the 140s to 150s alongside his anchoring skills. The two components are damaging for opposition teams, but the CSK captain has been stuck in the middle of these two approaches this season.
Gaikwad’s bid to anchor against SRH fails
He made a labouring 15 from 21 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad on what was a slow Chepauk surface as he looked to anchor and just when he tried exploding, he was caught at deep square leg off a mistimed pull in the 12th over. While Gaikwad has scored over 300 runs this season – he is CSK’s second-highest run-scorer in IPL 2026 – the CSK captain hasn’t had his usual season-defining knocks.
Fleming reflects on Gaikwad’s performances
Speaking after the loss to the SRH, Fleming reflected on Gaikwad’s performance. “I think Ruturaj can do more,” Fleming said at the post-match press conference. “He’s done more in the past. He’s been a fine player at the top. He hasn’t produced the quantity of runs and the pace of runs [this season] that he’s done in his career. And that’s something that he will address.”
Gaikwad played for the full season this time, having missed half of the last season due to an elbow injury. “This year, at least, he was here the whole time. Last year, he wasn’t here at all,” Fleming said. “So it would be unfair to judge that. But, yeah, there’s been a lot of work done behind the scenes as we learn about this group of players.
‘Big transition from Dhoni to Gaikwad’: Fleming
Meanwhile, Fleming highlighted that the transition from MS Dhoni to Gaikwad is a ‘big’ one and that it would take time. “It’s a big transition from having one of the best captains [MS Dhoni] in the cricket scene running the franchise for such a long time to a new captain. So it’s going to take a little bit of time. But he’s doing a good job. He has a massive amount of respect for this group of players. And he’s learning all the time and putting that into play. So going forward, I have no doubt he’ll be a fine captain for this franchise.”
Fleming accepted that his future with CSK is not in his hands, conceding that the call lies with the management. “I’d say it’s a choice for the management,” Fleming said. “I know there’s been a lot of talk about it, but MS has been around a lot this year, which has been really important for the team, for a lot of young players and continuity. So he’s been a big part, he hasn’t played, but he’s still had a big influence on the team. There are a lot of good things we’ve done. We’ve introduced some new players who will hopefully be the next generation of players for CSK. But I know we’re judged on results, that’s fair. So, yeah, it’s the management’s call, not mine.”
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