CSK, RR lock horns in dead rubber

Hindustan Times

19-05-2025

New Delhi: Their fate sealed and their season done, bottom-placed five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and ninth-placed Rajasthan Royals will meet at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Tuesday, hoping to collect some positives in an otherwise forgettable season.
Both teams have suffered from poor tactics and execution, but CSK seemed to have lost the plot on the auction table itself. Their strategy of relying heavily on seniors having been proved unsustainable beyond doubt, the MS Dhoni-led team has turned to younger talents as their season winds down.
In Ayush Mhatre, they have an exciting teenager who has shown promise, and CSK would hope the 17-year-old batter signs off with two good games. South Africa's 22-year-old batter Dewald Brevis and Afghanistan's 20-year-old left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad are others that CSK would like to keep in their scheme of things as they look to rebuild.
'They have certainly had an impact which is positive from a season that has been a challenge. We realised early on that we were off pace. These players are definitely in line for the future as we regenerate the team and reconfirm our philosophy of how we want to play,' CSK head coach Stephen Fleming said on Monday.
An advocate of experience over youth, the Kiwi admitted that the emerging talent in India is becoming hard to ignore.
'I am a fan of experience. Experience wins tournaments, but the youth and talent in this country is something you can't ignore. I have had a look at a lot of players throughout the season, trialling and looking at players who have a good understanding of what it is about. We have some understanding in players that can make a difference. It has been a worthwhile exercise from a disappointing season,' Fleming said.
Throwing his weight behind the seniors, Fleming reiterated his preference for experienced campaigners.
'I don't care how old the players are. I do like the experience though. The experience has served us really well over the grand years that we have had. It hasn't worked out quite well for us this year. It can be a bit of form, it can be strategy, it can be a number of things. They just don't quite work out.
'The fact that we have been so consistent over a number of years to have a poor year has shaken everybody. It is understandable given the excellence in which the franchises are operating,' he admitted.
With the next mega auction two years away, CSK will hope to blood in some fresh talent from next year's mini auction but with most teams having retained their core, they will have to make do with whatever talent is available in the market.
'One of the challenges around IPL is that every three years you have to recreate your side. It is a beauty and a beast as well. You have a good system and a good group of players and then it gets to the standings,' Fleming said.
In RR, they face an opponent struggling to find positives in another misbegotten campaign. Barring Yashasvi Jaiswal and the exciting Vaibhav Suryavanshi, RR have little to rave about this year. With Sanju Samson having resumed captaincy duties, RR would like to end their campaign with a win.