Bengaluru, Apr 7:
Head coach Stephen Fleming downplayed Sanju Samson’s underwhelming run in IPL 2026, saying the wicketkeeper batter is “going through the process of connecting” with Chennai Super Kings and he is “desperate” to score runs and contribute to the team’s success.
Samson, who joined the Super Kings from Rajasthan Royals amid much hype ahead of IPL 2026, has so far managed 6, 7, 9 in first three matches.
“It’s difficult when you’ve been at a franchise (RR) for some time and even though he probably feels pretty comfortable there’s still an element of belonging and he’s going through the process of connecting with this team,” said Fleming in the post-match press conference.
Samson’s modest outings at the top has robbed CSK of the desired quick beginning in this IPL, but Fleming said the Kerala man is “desperate” to find his rhythm.
“The team (CSK) has got five or six changes. So, it’s not like it’s a set team. There’s a little bit of work to be done off the field that we’re doing just to make the bonds a bit tighter but he’s fine. He’s fitted in really well.
“He’s desperate for some runs and to contribute along with the senior players. We saw with his World Cup (campaign) what can happen and when a batter gets on a run he is one guy that can be very dangerous. So, there’ll be nothing but support and confidence given from us to Sanju as he forges his path in yellow,” he added.
Fleming said they needed to be patient with young CSK players such as Ayush Mhatre to find their consistency, who, he said, will form the core of Chennai in the years to come.
Mhatre shone with a fifty in the previous game against Punjab Kings but got out for 1 against Bengaluru.
“Yeah, it’s a good balance, isn’t it? You can see the talent but you are also going to accept that there are going to be mistakes. There’s some huge talent and going forward it’s going to be a really good core of Indian players, batters in particular.
“But you’re going to get a little bit of inconsistency from some of the young players but you’re also going to get some brilliance. He’s got a pretty good mentor there with Mike Hussey who is a pretty good batting coach and understanding of the game.
“So, it’s trying to marry that skill with a bit of game sense and that does take time but we’ll be trying to get as much of that into these young players as possible but without stifling their natural ability,” he detailed.
The former New Zealand skipper said a combination of Tim David’s power-hitting and CSK bowlers’ failure to execute their plans consigned the five-time champions to their third straight defeat in IPL 2026.
“The real turning point was Tim David in that last part, the acceleration through the last sort of five overs. If you look at the score, we were ahead of them up to about five overs to go and then they just went like a rocket, and that’s really where the game was lost for us.” David made a rollicking 70 off 25 balls to power RCB to a massive 250 for three, but the CSK bowlers too erred in their lines and lengths at death.
“It was a tough night, we did some good things early on and then unfortunately just lost our shape in the backend the last four to five overs.
“If we’d just been able to hold our nerve and execute a bit better, a 210, 220 would have been in our grasp but we just got a little bit shell-shocked and that flowed through into the early parts of our batting as well,” he added.