'MS Dhoni is happy to just...': Fleming, Bravo break silence on CSK's baffling tactics after defeat to RR

Stephen Fleming and Dwayne Bravo explain CSK's decision behind not sending MS Dhoni up the order in a tense chase against RR during their IPL 2023 tie.

Chennai Super Kings succumbed to their third defeat of IPL 2023 last evening in Jaipur when they failed to chase down 203 against Rajasthan Royals. CSK once again depended more on their middle order than the captain himself and paid the price for their questionable tactics. MS Dhoni, despite being in prolific form, has for some reason, stayed low in the batting order with the likes of Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja getting chances ahead of him. Last evening was the perfect opportunity for CSK to shuffle things up in a tense chase, but it wasn’t to be. Despite a 46-run stand between Dube and Jadeja, CSK fell short by 32 runs.

MS Dhoni sets the field for CSK. (Agencies)

The defeat riled up CSK fans, with many questioning the decision to not send Dhoni higher, to which CSK coach Stephen Fleming and Dwayne Bravo provided interesting answers. The former New Zealand captain, who has been with the franchise since the very beginning, explained that CSK have a certain set of roles assigned to everyone in the team and tweaking them to make exceptions is the wrong practice to follow.

"The set roles are very important. (Ajinkya) Rahane has been great for us at No. 3. We don't mess with things that are going well. It was just today we came up against a team that took the pace off the ball. We couldn't get any real momentum in the first six overs. Devon Conway, who is in outstanding form, couldn't get underway. The rhythm of the innings was slow. When we tried to catch the game up, we made mistakes," he said during the post-match press conference.

Bravo too shared his two cents on the matter, revealing that this potentially being Dhoni’s final IPL season, the CSK skipper is happy to sit back and expose the youngsters to such high-pressure scenarios. The biggest positive to come out of this mindset is Dube, who started IPL 2023 with 19 off 18 balls and was criticised for it, but has since emerged to score 236 runs from 8 matches including three fifties on the bounce and a highest of 95 not out against RCB.

"That is the position he has to bat. Everyone is batting higher than him and he takes that responsibility and ownership upon himself to bat lower down the order because the likes of Jadeja, Rayudu, and Dube, he wants to give these guys as many opportunities as possible. He is happy to just play the finishing role," Bravo had said in a press conference," Bravo said.

"The CSK morale is very high, and that has nothing to do with the results. We are a team that is normally very level irrespective of whether we perform well or not. But it is always better when we are doing well. So far, we have started the season on a positive note and we just have to keep the momentum and keep winning cricket games. Tomorrow's game against RR is going to be a very hard game."