Follow UsChennai Super Kings’ (CSK) Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 campaign came to an end with a five-wicket loss to Rajasthan Royals (RR). They ended their campaign with just four wins and have finished in ninth position.
Head coach Stephen Fleming while ruing the chances the team missed this season, is hopeful that it would act as a catalyst for the next one.
“It certainly didn't go our way. The reality of it is, when you start a cycle, when you have a number of new players and a new dynamic within the team, it can be testing,” Fleming said in the post-match press conference.
“We suffered from catastrophic success, so just trying to play the same way and continue on from the last four years which were very successful is a real challenge. Understanding what new players can do can take a little bit of time.
“What we didn't have was a couple of form players who got us through those early days. You get a couple of wins, you get a little bit of evidence that the team's on the right track. The young players then get a big of confidence from the senior players doing well.
“That's a cycle. We had a slow start and we weren't able to string enough games together. We had opportunities to do better than what we did. But the reality is that we weren't good enough to make the semi-finals (playoffs) this year and that's always a catalyst for next year.”
Youngsters like Mukesh Choudhary and Smiarjeet Singh got their opportunities this season and Fleming is glad that they had a look at such players this time which would be beneficial in the seasons to come.
“There's mixed success. We stuttered our way through. There were a number of games that were close, but we weren't good enough to get across the line,” noted Fleming.
“That's the normal story of a season where you don't qualify. We introduced some [youngsters]. We like more performances from all. We were a little bit below. But the first year of a three-year cycle is always a chance to see some players.
“The last two games, in particular, have been beneficial and this one today was great for us to look at a couple of guys under pressure.”
Moeen Ali played some delightful strokes en route his 93. Fleming says Moeen is a class player, who chips in with the ball if not with the bat.
“Moeen Ali was superb. He is one of our marquee players. The way he batted today you thought it was going to be a 250 wicket. But the game certainly changed in the halfway point of our batting but Moeen has shown his class, if not with the bat, with the ball,” Fleming said.