Hyderabad: Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming has acknowledged the need for rebuilding an ‘ageing squad’ after a poor show with the bat which has been their Achilles heel throughout the season.
CSK squad with an average of 34 for the core team, has proved that age is just a number by winning the IPL last year and finishing runners-up to Mumbai Indians here Sunday night.
But as pointed out by both Fleming and skipper M S Dhoni, they could have done a lot more in the batting department.
“We will give some time for dust to settle down. I think if you win one title and reach the final next time, you have had good two years. We do understand that we are an ageing team. So at some point, we just have to look at recreating the side, obviously MS as well,” said Fleming following the one-run loss to Mumbai.
Fleming said that the planning for next season will start after Mahendra Singh Dhoni is back from the World Cup. The former New Zealand skipper said that just like other teams have created a new pool of talent, CSK will be cautiously also enter into the rebuilding phase.
“He (Dhoni) will be travelling to the World Cup. A lot of talent has been established in other teams. You need to do it carefully and get the balance right, when you try to go for players who you think can deliver for us,” he said.
While the bowlers were exceptional, the batsmen could have done better, felt Fleming.
“This year in Chennai was tough (turning track), the conditions were tough to read, hard to play. A little bit of training as well, our batters weren’t big enough from the form point of view. If we look at the aggregate of numbers from our top order, we could have liked a bit more. Batting certainly was a weak part of our game this season, there is a lot of work to do.
“But at the same time, how much more do you need? We got to the final, we went till the last ball. Of course, we didn’t have a good season with the bat. But there was never a lack of effort,” said Fleming.
PTI