Chennai Super Kings, one of the inaugural franchises of the Indian Premier League, have built a reputation for winning, with five title triumphs to their name. Yet the opening stretch of the 2026 campaign has been a stark contrast to their usual standards. CSK have lost three games in a row and sit at the very bottom of the points table, a situation that has quickly turned into a wider conversation about what is and isn\u2019t working inside the team.<\/p>\n
As the defeats pile up, scrutiny has moved beyond the playing group and onto the coaching set-up. Stephen Fleming, the head coach who has been part of the CSK system since 2009, is now being questioned as the franchise looks for answers and tries to find a route back to competitiveness.<\/p>\n
Fleming\u2019s tenure has been decorated in the past. Since taking charge in 2009, he helped shape a strong working relationship with former captain MS Dhoni, and that coach-captain combination became a defining feature of CSK\u2019s rise. Together, they guided the side to all five of their IPL titles, arriving between 2010 and 2023, with CSK often operating like a well-oiled unit.<\/p>\n
However, the current season\u2019s struggles have prompted former India opener Sadagoppan Ramesh to challenge the broader narrative around CSK\u2019s success. In his view, Fleming\u2019s achievements have been closely tied to Dhoni\u2019s leadership, and the shift to a more recent leadership group featuring Ruturaj Gaikwad has not produced the same rhythm\u2014at least so far in 2026.<\/p>\n
Ramesh argued that Fleming\u2019s impact cannot be separated from Dhoni\u2019s captaincy, adding that the coach should be assessed in the same way the fitness and adaptability of players are. He also suggested that Fleming may not be adjusting quickly enough to the modern, more aggressive style of T20 cricket. Ramesh\u2019s comments, shared on Instagram, were blunt: he claimed Fleming has not found success elsewhere without Dhoni running the side, and that the coach appears to be \u201cfive steps behind\u201d in terms of mindset and adaptation.<\/p>\n
There is, nonetheless, a measurable element to the criticism. Under Fleming\u2019s guidance, Gaikwad\u2019s captaincy record includes eight wins in more than 22 matches. Even so, CSK have struggled to regain their trademark consistency since 2024, finishing fifth in 2024 and dropping further to 10th in 2025.<\/p>\n
Ramesh also placed the emphasis squarely on Gaikwad\u2019s personal output. Despite holding the captain\u2019s role, he has not delivered strongly as a senior batter, managing only 41 runs across three matches in 2026. The former opener urged Gaikwad to get runs on the board, lead from the front, and help guide CSK\u2019s younger batting group while focusing on controllables and working to rediscover his form.<\/p>\n
In his assessment, experience matters in more than one way. While he said it takes no particular background to hit boundaries in T20 cricket, he argued that the ability to prevent them is where experience becomes crucial\u2014and he pointed to CSK\u2019s bowling as an area lacking in that regard. For Gaikwad to strengthen his position as captain, Ramesh insisted he must start scoring regularly and, ideally, win matches through his own batting impact.<\/p>\n
With the season still in its early phase, CSK still have time to reverse their fortunes if they can identify the right direction from their leaders. Their next assignment comes at home against Delhi Capitals, with the Men in Yellow aiming to register their first points of the campaign and arrest the slide before it becomes harder to recover from.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chennai Super Kings, one of the inaugural franchises of the Indian Premier League, have built a reputation for winning, with five title triumphs to their…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"IPL 2026: CSK slump deepens as Fleming faces criticism","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"CSK\u2019s 2026 season hits a new low as losses mount and Fleming comes under pressure\u2014can Chennai turn things around before it\u2019s too late?","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n