Former England cricketer Michael Vaughan has said that while the Chennai Super Kings coaching group cannot be faulted for their losing run in IPL 2026, there might come a time when Stephen Fleming decides
that his time at the franchise has come to an end and he needs to move on.
Fleming became Chennai Super Kings’ head coach in 2009 after retiring from cricket. Under his guidance, CSK won IPL 2010 and qualified for the Champions League T20.
Chennai Super Kings won the 2010 Champions League under Fleming’s guidance. He then led CSK to consecutive IPL titles in 2011 and another Champions League T20 title in 2014.
After the two-year suspension of CSK and Rajasthan Royals, the IPL introduced two new franchises, Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions, for the 2016 season. The Rising Pune Supergiants appointed Fleming as head coach before he returned to the Chennai Super Kings for the 2018 season.
“It isn’t about the environment. The problem is that Sanju is not firing, Gaikwad is not firing and a young lad at number three has only one good score. Chasing 251 is not easy. How often is that successfully done in T20s?” Vaughan questioned while speaking on Cricbuzz.
“The bowling is the bigger concern. They did put up a decent fight with the bat, but I would not blame the coaching. All fairy-tale love stories end and the Fleming-Dhoni combination, which has been with CSK from almost day one, cannot last forever,” Vaughan added.
Fleming guided CSK to their third IPL title in 2018 and then led the team to further wins in 2021 and 2023. Under his coaching, CSK became the most successful IPL team, with five titles and 10 final appearances.
“It would not be because Fleming is getting sacked; he will likely decide it is time to move on after 20-plus years. What they can control is the pitch at home. A flatter surface favours batters and their bowling attack will struggle,” Vaughan said.
