Head coach Stephen Fleming of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) made a candid confession after the IPL 2026 mini-auction stating that they have been slow in adapting to the ever-changing T20 cricket literally. This rare moment of truth came along with the disastrous last-place finish CSK suffered in the IPL 2025 season.
Chennai Super Kings have always been known for their strong belief in the power of experience, loyalty and keeping cool in the heat of the moment. But their ‘daddy’s army’ was last in the standings last season. And now, it looks like CSK’s tacticians have introduced a new strategy.
CSK entered the new phase of transition, Fleming affirms
The franchise displayed their power at the IPL 2026 mini-auction by splurging a combined record low price of ₹14.2 crore on two such players who are still to make their mark in league matches, Prashant Veer (20) and Kartik Sharma (19).
For a group that was once referred to as “Dad’s Army,” it was nothing less than a complete change in philosophy.
Immediately after the auction, CSK coach Stephen Fleming compared the situation to the 2025 IPL when his franchise was slow to adapt to the new game.
“As the game has evolved, we might have been a little bit slow to evolve with it. Only halfway through the [last] tournament we had a big shift and you saw with the players we got in as reserves, there was a shift in what we needed to do,” Fleming told press after auction.
Fleming disclosed that the transformation in attitude was not only completed but had already begun at the IPL 2025 midway, a season which CSK finished at the bottom.
The injuries of the players led the team to include Dewald Brevis, Ayush Mhatre and Urvil Patel as replacements, and the effect was felt right away.
“Sometimes you can hang on to theories and philosophies because of past success but we identified that we needed to shift and partly the work that we did last season halfway through has enabled us to continue that work done,” he added.
The newcomers energized the team, brought fearlessness and a tempo that CSK had just managed to produce against the younger and faster teams.
Fleming referred to the new generation as “T20 babies,” players who have never played anything other than the shortest format. These players who enjoy the freedom and are not afraid at all are opposite to the experienced stars who sometimes overthink the situations.
Fleming, however, opines that mental freedom is becoming a deciding factor or an advantage being as the game is more rapid and aggressive.
“I just wonder if we’re now seeing the product of T20 coming to the fore. So that is one thing to acknowledge, that T20 babies are now coming through. And it’s just that mental aspect. Sometimes an experienced player can get caught up in himself, trying to work out where the game’s going and what’s going on. But these young players these days, they’re just very free and they only know one way.”
9 buys for Super Kings in the IPL 2026 auction
Chennai Super Kings took a bold step towards younger players and different skills at the IPL 2026 auction. The main purchases were the kids’ Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma.
CSK has also made a good move in the bowling department with Akeal Hosein, Matt Henry, and Rahul Chahar, while adding more depth in all-rounders with Matthew Short, Aman Khan, and Zakary Foulkes. The presence of Sarfaraz Khan adds to the middle-order batting strength.
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