Chennai Super Kings is a multi-skilled team: Stephen Fleming

“Watson is a proven performer in the T20 circuit. He is in good touch as well. He is someone who can bat at the top of the order, come in late in the innings and also bowl a few overs at the death,” Fleming conveyed his satisfaction on buying the Aussie.

Watson, who has been on fire in the Big Bash League with the Sydney Thunder, would be another valuable asset to a side which already boasts of T20 specialists like Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja. “When we combine what Watto offers with that of the likes of Raina, Jadeja, Jadhav and Harbhajan, we have a multi-skilled team in our ranks. That to us is very important as it gives us options throughout the course of the season,” added the Kiwi. 

Despite purchasing the spin trio of Harbhajan Singh, Karn Sharma and South African Imran Tahir on Saturday, CSK went on to add New Zealand all-rounder Mitchell Santner. 

“The trend now in world is to have wrist spinners (referring to Karn and Tahir) and variations. We have looked at that and embraced that. We are happy with the combinations we can put up,” Fleming said.

As Harbhajan is unlikely to walk into the starting line-up in all the games, the chances are that the side may field more than one leg-spinner in the playing eleven. In fact, Fleming had admitted he bought Harbhajan as CSK missed out on local lad R Ashwin on the first day. 

Retained Ravindra Jadeja is another spin option in its arsenal alongside Kedar Jadhav and Suresh Raina who can contribute as part-timers. 

The general impression was that the Chennai Super Kings was happy taking players in their 30s such as Vijay, Raina, Dhoni, Dwayne Bravo, Ambati Rayudu, Harbhajan Singh, Kedar Jadhav and du Plessis. But Fleming is not bothered about age when going for the experienced players. “We have really valued experience. MS (Dhoni) and I are on the same wavelength that experience counts,” the 44-year-old sounded optimistic. 

Commenting on the strategy of not going behind some of India’s Under-19 stars, “Young players come and go, but around the world, the experienced players have always been pretty consistent.”