IPL 2026 – CSK vs MI – Stephen Fleming on giving Kartik Sharma the best chance to do well

“You have the young players, there’s two parts to it,” CSK coach Stephen Fleming said on Saturday after they thumped MI. “One is how you introduce them. It is a big stage no matter what they’ve been doing at domestic level. So understanding their mentality is really important and it is a big step-up. They can have all the talent in the world but the temperament is what we’re looking for, and his [Kartik’s] introduction was tough at the start and then he had a little bit of time out. He worked hard and today was a good reward for that.

“He’s a fine player and he was expensive in the auction because others see that [value] as well and tonight it was good to see the temperament as well as the skill on show and he will just get better and better. So it’s a nice spot [No. 4] for him and the timing was right. So we’re really pleased and proud of what he did today.”

On IPL debut, Kartik was thrown into a passage of play that was straight out of a spicy Test-match session on a Guwahati surface that had spent considerable time under covers. Batting at No. 6, Kartik managed 18 off 15 balls, and after lower scores against Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, he was dropped from the team. On Saturday against MI, he showed glimpses of his full range, especially against spin, after being picked as an impact player ahead of Sarfaraz Khan. Kartik advanced at mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar and shovelled him over midwicket for six and then finished CSK’s chase of 160 with an eye-catching reverse-scoop off Trent Boult.

Fleming saw signs of growth in Kartik’s game from last season, when he trained with CSK’s wider squad as an unofficial member.

“Well, he was pretty good last year,” Fleming said. “Again, it’s just trying to understand at what level the skill keeps lifting up and, when it’s domestic level, you’re trying to quantify the standard. Some of it I can’t see, some of it you see a lot on video.

“But again, it comes back to that temperament. Being able to do it on this stage is very unique and when we watched him in the last trials and then his recent form leading into the auction, we felt that he was pretty close or ready to have a chance. He’s worked very hard. There were some things he had to work on and still needs to work on as he goes forward.”

In December 2025, CSK spent INR 14.2 crore on Kartik, making him the joint-most expensive uncapped Indian player at an IPL auction. CSK’s team management is helping him deal with the price-tag pressure by having him spend time with MS Dhoni and David Reid, a mental-skills coach who has also worked with Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League and Essendon Football Club in the AFL (Australian Football League).

“The mental aspect is really important,” Fleming said. “You’re sending players out into an absolute cauldron like tonight with 35,000 to 50,000 to 100,000 people. The mental aspect of staying calm and understanding what the mind and body are doing is reasonably untapped in this competition. We have had one of the best in MS Dhoni, who has been as calm as anyone can be in winning games. So learning from him but also understanding a little bit more of the science around it.

“So we run a young players’ programme where we introduce them to certain mental skills and breathing and aspects that might help them to perform. Because they’re very good at hitting balls in the nets, but understanding nerves and anxiety and fear of failure is also equally important, especially if you have a price tag on your head.

“So, I think more than ever the duty of care is around the mental health aspect and just making sure that these players have some skills to go alongside the talent that they possess.”

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