CSK coach Stephen Fleming praises Rachin Ravindra ahead of GT clash

CHENNAI: Ahead of the fixture against Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 on Tuesday, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming praised Rachin Ravindra for a "performance that was really encouraging" on debut in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

CSK will play their second game of the season against last year's finalist, GT at their home arena, MA Chidambaram Stadium. The five-time champions had won their first game against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by six wickets.

Fleming asserted that the batting coach Michael Hussey is working on the plans and the management is encouraging the players to do what they want to. "He stuck to his game and part of introducing players to the squad is trying to get them as comfortable as possible. Mike Hussey works all around the plans predominantly we're just encouraging players to do what they would do in their normal environment, whether it be New Zealand or South Africa, wherever it is, is to try and play as similar and do the same things they would do for their national teams," Fleming said as quoted by CSK.

The former Blackcaps skipper further praised Rachin who played really well in the last match. The opener scored 37 runs off just 15 balls with the help of three fours and three sixes. "And that was just the case with Rachin. He played very well. There's nerves around, there's a lot of nerves in the first game, even from some of the seasoned players. So, to be able to put a performance like that was really encouraging," the former New Zealand cricketer added.

Fleming also stated that there are chances in the future that the left-arm spinner will get a chance to bowl in Chennai as the pitch conditions are pretty good. "Possibly. Possibly at times, yeah. Conditions are pretty good at the moment, but his bowling is... Yeah, it is an asset for the team as well, definitely," the 50-year-old concluded.

CSK squad for IPL 2024: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Sameer Rizvi, MS Dhoni (wk), Deepak Chahar, Maheesh Theekshana, Mustafizur Rahman, Tushar Deshpande, Shardul Thakur, Shaik Rasheed, Moeen Ali, Nishant Sindhu, Mitchell Santner, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Prashant Solanki, Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh, RS Hangargekar, Aravelly Avanish.