IPL 2026 – CSK vs PBKS – Stephen Fleming on CSK’s auction strategy and missing players

The bowling attack they assembled for the season has now leaked 338 runs in 30.5 overs for only seven wickets. The people they have let go have been having better luck, with Lungi Ngidi creating viral moments with his slower ball. CSK had the option to go for him at the auction. They didn’t. They went hard for Ben Dwarshuis and Jason Holder but could get neither. They brought in Gerald Coetzee at Joburg Super Kings and Texas Super Kings but not here. They replaced the injured Nathan Ellis with Spencer Johnson, who is yet to join the team.

Although it is very early, this IPL is showing a trend where teams with weak bowling attacks are barely able to stay in the game,

“I’m trying to think back to the auction process,” Fleming said after Punjab Kings (PBKS) chased down 210 with eight balls to spare and hand CSK their second successive defeat. “Around all those names that you’ve talked about and mentioned, I don’t, I can’t remember the dynamics. There was a large list of bowlers that we looked at and missed out on that might have been out of form at the time but are in form now, but trust me, we went over everything.”

Ruturaj Gaikwad believed the game was in the balance around the 13th over of the chase when CSK had just taken two quick wickets. “[But] just when the over was going really well, we conceded that six or a boundary. The pressure didn’t really build. I think there was a point where it [required rate] went to 11 an over. Maybe a couple of good overs from there, it’d have climbed to 12 and 13. That’s how you gain momentum. So I think we just didn’t get that momentum in the middle.”

Based on Yuzvendra Chahal’s performance (3-0-21-1) earlier in the day, Gaikwad also felt spin was the way to go through the middle overs and brought in Rahul Chahar (4-0-46-0) as the impact sub and paired him with Noor Ahmad (4-0-38-0). Both of them had difficult nights “and that’s what cost us,” said the CSK captain.

“Other tournaments around the world, it’s not as frantic as this. I’m not sure how much longer it [the rule] is here for or if it’s here to stay. But that certainly changes the dynamic of cricket and probably sways a little bit towards batting power”

Stephen Fleming

Fleming was a little more philosophical. He said he would prefer better balance between bat and ball but understood where the game was going and appreciated that CSK must be a lot better defensively.

“Bowling is under pressure in the IPL, especially with the impact [player] rule,” he said. “You’ve seen players who are taking the game on and their skillset is very high. All bowling attacks are under pressure. We need to execute better, there’s no doubt about it. It was our first real run today. The last one was a little seamer, a green seamer with a low score. That’s our first real under-pressure run and we were below where we needed to be, where we have been operating and training.”

The change in T20 batting

Fleming, who is one of the longest serving coaches in T20 cricket, having spent 16 years with CSK, has come to a starling conclusion: “I don’t think there is a thing called finishers anymore.”

“It’s right from ball one, everyone is going at a rate of knots,” he said. “It’s not build up to the 16th over and then go harder. Everyone is going hard from ball one. So the run rates of 10, 11, 12 all the way through are what’s expected. And you’re not really getting the big peaks towards the end. It’s just a more aggressive approach to get 240.”

Fleming was confident CSK would be able to play like that too. “Keep in mind, we’ve got [Dewald] Brevis on the sideline and we’ve got one of the best finishers in MS [Dhoni] who’s injured.”

The challenges of building a T20 team

CSK’s struggles have coincided with the introduction of the Impact Player rule – it came into play in 2023, they won the title that year but missed the playoffs in 2024 and finished last in 2025.

“Other tournaments around the world, it’s not as frantic as this,” Fleming said. “I’m not sure how much longer it [the rule] is here for or if it’s here to stay. But that certainly changes the dynamic of cricket and probably sways a little bit towards batting power.”

Also, IPL teams establishing a presence in overseas T20 leagues has meant owners trying to tie players down to represent their teams all over the world.

“One of the greatest challenges in T20 franchise cricket is securing talent,” Fleming said. “And that through competitions is becoming difficult as teams bundle players. So that’s one of the challenges. But we are constantly looking at where the game is going next. And trying to secure players that we think will be the next big thing or where the game will go.

“So, again, you say how long is the impact player [rule going to be there]? Will allrounders come back into the game? Or will it continue to be dashers, an aggressive batting style? I don’t know. But look, I’m constantly with others looking at that and trying to stay as relevant as possible.”

Alagappan Muthu is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

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