Here to win the IPL: Stephen Fleming

Stephen Fleming, Chennai Super Kings head coach slammed the criticizers who speculate about the average age of his team and term it as a team of veterans.

Fleming, who has CSK for the past eight seasons before the suspension of CSK, also talked about the value of experience and why his focus on winning the IPL title for Chennai and not developing young players.

“They are not 55-56, they’re 35-36,” Fleming said in a press conference.

“My responsibility is to try and win the competition for the franchise. I am not here to develop young players. And that is why we value experience, we think that it gives us the best chance,” he added.

CSK made sure to reassemble the squad that brought them success in the past years before their hiatus.

Chennai Super Kings made it to the finals and won two titles. They also won Champions League T20, a tournament that was scrapped after 2014 edition.

With age being the biggest contention for their haters, it was being speculated that this squad would’ve been a great one, but perhaps around four or five seasons ago.

However, they have exhibited a great performance and Chennai Super Kings are seated on the second spot with four wins.

Fleming emphasized on the performances of Watson, Gayle, Bravo and Dhoni in the tournament so far to further elucidate his point regarding age not being a barrier, and that over a long season, it is the more experienced players who lend consistency to the team.

“I’ll again say that the experienced and professional players dominate the tournament of the IPL. Chris Gayle has come back, we all have seen how well he is playing. Obviously, Shane Watson and his century, Dwayne Bravo and MS Dhoni, these guys still have a lot of cricket in them”

“Yes, it is very interesting to watch young players come and perform. But over a long season, consistency and professionalism is what I look for. I’ve seen that older players who are still motivated, still fit and committed, can provide consistency that can keep you going in the tournament,” Fleming added.