We've got some strong ideas for next year: Fleming

"We've been just patching innings up, really, rather than constructing good innings." © BCCI/IPL
The 2025 season has been a rude awakening for the Chennai Super Kings outfit. Since the inception of the Indian Premier League, they have been an epitome of consistency. Five titles, numerous playoffs and what's more stunning is that in all those seasons that they had been part of, there had never been two successive years without CSK making the final. This streak has ended after they became among the first teams to be eliminated in the 2025 season.

The disappointments of 2024 spilled into this year and for the first time in IPL history, CSK could find themselves with the wooden spoon. Head coach Stephen Fleming didn't mince his words after the team crashed to a six-wicket loss against RR in Delhi. "It's probably fitting that we're at the bottom," said Fleming at the post-match press conference.

"We've played that type of cricket, so you can't hide away from it. But what we do want to do is just put a much better performance on the paddock that reflects the ability of the team."

Having been eliminated more than two weeks ago, CSK's games have been of academic interest. What they have done thereafter is to blood the young guns with an eye on next season as the franchise tries to look ahead. Even so, winning does become a key ingredient to team morale and Fleming insisted that the team wasn't lacking in terms of focus despite being out of the playoffs race a long time ago.

"We don't obviously like being down here (at the bottom of the points table), but it's not a motivation. We wanted just a good performance. We're trying to string some performances together. The aim was two good performances. Now it'll be one good one to finish."

CSK's biggest problem this year has been the batting and their approach. Until the influx of youth started in recent games, they were even having torrid PowerPlays and a general lack of intent across all phases. While there has been a noticeable change in the tempo of their innings, it's evident that the side has gaps to fill in their batting order. The likes of Ayush Mhatre and Dewald Brevis have shown immense promise for the future but the duo needs more support from the rest.

The think-tank also seems to be in a muddle when it comes to the batting order. After spending years as the designated finisher, Ravindra Jadeja now finds himself as the team's no.4, a role that he has seldom played except in the 2023 season. Against RR on Tuesday, it was Ravichandran Ashwin who walked in at 4 as the management tried to utilise the powerplay. It was a role that the veteran had done at RR and to be fair to him, the 38-year-old did strike a few lusty blows with the field up. However, this uncertainty in the batting order is a complete u-turn from the usually stable methods that CSK have been known for.

"Yeah, our order is not right at this stage, and that is something that we are always looking to rejig. We've got some strong ideas for next year, so that all facets are covered. But that hasn't been possible this year because of the lack of runs at the top. A lot of the batting positions are determined by how well a start we have, and then guys can fall into line. So we haven't had that. So we've been just patching innings up, really, rather than constructing good innings."

While the batting mishaps are well documented, CSK have also had issues with their bowling with their usual suspects not delivering the goods. Matheesha Pathirana, one of the mainstays, has endured a forgettable season with an economy of over 10 runs-per-over this year. He has lacked control and the remodeled bowling action hasn't yet synced well with his plans. Given how crucial he has been to CSK's plans over the years, Pathirana's lean patch has been a body blow for MS Dhoni's men in the 2025 season.

While admitting the Sri Lankan's struggles, Fleming also chose not to be too critical of Pathirana. "Yeah, it (Pathirana's form) hasn't been up to what we want. We have high expectations of him, which is why we retained him. But he is coming back into some form. He was really out of form when we had him in South Africa. He's made improvements, but it's still not to where we or he would like. So there's some room for him to get some form and get some confidence, I guess. But I think he's just at that crossroads where batsmen are playing him better.

"They've seen more of him. So now he just has to drill down on what he needs to do to be as effective as what he's been for the first part of his career. It's a unique skill set, but it's been a little bit off."

Apart from Pathirana's struggles, the other overseas bowling star in Noor Ahmad has also not quite lived up to expectations. Statistically, he is second in the Purple Cap race but the Afghanistan spinner's impact has waned as the season has gone by. He has particularly struggled to keep the runs down even while picking up wickets. Meanwhile, the one bright spot has been the unassuming emergence of Anshul Kamboj. Surprisingly left out at the start of the season, Kamboj has impressed with his new-ball bursts, showing good control and calm under pressure. One of the strengths that the 24-year-old has is his ability to rush batters due to his deceptive nature with the ball. Kamboj can get the ball to nip away off the seam and also has a decent slower ball in his repertoire in addition to his hard length deliveries.

Fleming only had words of praise for the young pacer who has also made rapid strides in red-ball cricket. During the 2024 Ranji season, Kamboj became only the third player ever to take all ten wickets in an innings. He has also been picked for the India A squad that is set to tour England shortly.

"Kamboj is good. His speeds have been around 138, 139 (kph). He is deceptive and the ball always seems to hit the gloves harder. His big strength is his length and he just gets the ball to wobble. You saw that today on a reasonably flat wicket and he'll do well on that tour (of England) if he gets conditions that seam a bit and a little bit of swing. He'll be an absolute handful. He has got some real potential with both white and red ball. We're happy with his development and the opportunity he has taken this year."