Recently, the former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has claimed that Virat Kohli is lucky to remain as the captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) till the date. One day ahead of IPL 2019 opening match, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming gave his opinion on Virat Kohli’s captaincy.
The former two-time IPL winning captain Gautam Gambhir has recently claimed that he doesn’t see Virat Kohli as a shoot captain or tactical captain. He further added that Virat Kohli should thank the RCB franchise for staying with his captaincy for such a long time despite not winning any tournament yet.
However, the CSK head coach Stephen Fleming believes that a captain’s quality or a player’s quality can’t be defined just because of his zero IPL trophy victories.
He said according to PTI, “One man doesn’t win the IPL. It’s a tough competition to win. It’s getting tougher because teams are a lot smarter. Players are conditioned to playing in the IPL. Coaches and managers are getting more shrewd in how they buy and put together teams.
“So just because you’re probably the best batter in the world, probably one of the best players in the world, it doesn’t mean he’s going to have success in the IPL.
“There’s a number of things that go towards it. One thing I do know is that when there’s a challenge put in front of him, he meets it.”
The CSK head coach further added
Stephen Fleming further elaborated the thin line between the realistic expectation and expecting to win the competition from a player. The CSK coach also said that it would be not easy for them to retain the IPL trophy in the new season.
He said, “His expectation with this team will be to give it a good run and I’m sure, as most other franchises will be wanting. Winning competitions is a byproduct of how you lead your team so there’s a challenge there.
“But as I say they’re really looking (like) a good team. Most teams on paper are outstanding so we have got our work cut out to win it again, we will be giving it a good shot as well.”
Ngidi is a big loss
In the last season, the South African pacer Lungi Ngidi played an essential role for CSK to win the trophy. The young right-arm pacer took 11 wickets in seven matches with an incredible average of 14.18.
However, the CSK side will miss his crucial service in IPL 2019 due to his injury. The 22-year-old pacer has been ruled out from the entire tournament due to his side strain injury.
The CSK head coach has mentioned this incident as their big loss in this season.
He said, “Ngidi is a big loss. He was the find last year for us, he bowled really well. We got a squad that can cover his absence. But, sometimes players are a little bit special. The onus is on the other overseas options. We are taking our time on his replacement at the moment.”
The IPL 2019 will begin this Saturday (23rd March) when CSK and RCB will face at Chennai. The CSK head coach confirmed that other crucial overseas cricketers Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir and Mitchell Santner are all available for the opening game of the tournament.
While many teams emphasis on starting the tournament well, Stephen Fleming believes that it’s just an opportunity to make an early positive impact in the side.
He added, “There is a real emphasis on starting the tournament well. Last year, we won a couple of games which could easily have gone the other way. We know the importance of a good start. We are certainly not desperate to win it and it’s just an opportunity we are looking forward to.”
The reason for the success of wrist spinners
Stephen Fleming also gave his view on the recent success of the wrist spinners. He thinks that the wrist spinners are good weapons for any team.
The CSK head coach said, “I think there’s a few reasons. One is that there’s a lot of younger players now on the big stage who maybe haven’t played as much first-class cricket or developed skills that used to go along with an apprenticeship with batting, and part of the batsmanship in my era and before was reading the bowler, watching the ball.
“Now it’s about power. And ball striking. So there’s a lot more emphasis on power. Whereas probably in my era, it was about defence first. So there’s been a big shift about the way young players play the game. A lot of those players are now emerging and playing big parts in the IPL.
“Wrist spinners have got clever as well. They play a role where the batsmen have to take risks. Before T20 you could take your time with wrist spin, now you’ve got to be aggressive and with the ball going both ways, if you don’t know, it can be your downfall. I think they’re good weapons to have.”
After Mumbai Indians (MI), CSK has also won three IPL trophies after winning the IPL 2018 trophy. No other team has won more than two IPL trophies till the date.