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Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar questioned the work CSK head coach Stephen Fleming is doing with the franchise. Manjrekar said that now is the time for the franchise to move on from the former New Zealand captain.
Fleming has been associated with the franchise since its inception, as a player for one year and as its head coach for the rest.
Fleming led Chennai Super Kings as head coach to all five IPL trophies and their two Champions League T20 titles.
CSK in IPL 2026
Chennai Super Kings finished eighth out of 10 teams in IPL 2026 after winning just 6 of their 14 matches.
The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side had a shaky start and end to their campaign after a promising stretch in the middle. CSK’s streak of 6 wins in 8 matches was sandwiched between two separate spells of three consecutive defeats.
CSK has failed to qualify for the IPL playoffs for three consecutive years now. Incidentally, Ruturaj Gaikwad was the full-time captain in these three seasons, and in the season before that, they had won the IPL title.
After three consecutive years of poor performance, both Fleming and Gaikwad are under fire and calls for their sacking are increasing by the minute.
ALSO READ: Stephen Fleming urged to leave coaching role at CSK after IPL 2026 horror show
“It’s time to do the right thing” – Sanjay Manjrekar
Speaking to Sportstar, Manjrekar said that now is the time to move on from Fleming. He also said that the poor performance of Chennai Super Kings in the last few seasons has hardly surprised anyone.
There are some things you have to do to be the right thing. Now is the time for them to do so. One of the things you have to do is change things around. It’s not like the Titans, where they had a bad year; CSK has been quiet for the last few years. The reasons are very clear. It is not that people are surprised that CSK has become such a team or has not been able to reach the playoffs. Sanjay Manjrekar said, it is very easy to see what has changed
Manjrekar also questioned whether Fleming was playing his role efficiently, especially in terms of strategy. He suggested that Sanju Samson should take the captaincy from Ruturaj Gaikwad.
“I think the leadership can easily go to Sanju Samson, who has done this before. Just free up Ruturaj Gaikwad and make him the batsman he was before. I don’t know how much Stephen Fleming is contributing as a coach, because with Dhoni, everything was in his domain, and Fleming was a great guy. He is a guy who knows his cricket; he is not there just for cosmetic reasons. But it is time to change some things.”
“Players who have reached their peak have been given important positions” – Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar also criticized the way Super Kings handled their former captain MS Dhoni.
He said that it is not a good thing to give Dhoni an important role in the franchise despite reaching his peak.