'Tough baptism' - Stephen Fleming concedes outing against SRH just not Mukesh Choudhary's day
Match 18 of IPL 2024 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad was Mukesh Choudhary's first game this season
Post Mukesh Choudhary being the joint-highest wicket-taker for the Chennai Super Kings in a disappointing season as they finished in the penultimate position on the table as well as him being ruled out of the following season due to him still in the process of recovering from a back injury, the left-arm medium pacer would've been hoping to get off to a good start after being introduced as an Impact Player during match 18 of IPL 2024, which was being played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Coming in to bowl the second over after eight runs conceded by Deepak Chahar in the introductory one, Choudhary got battered for 27 whole runs by eventual Player of the Match Abhishek Sharma, who ensured Choudhary was never brought back into the attack after the sole over he bowled.
Head coach of CSK, Stephen Fleming, in the post-match conference, said that the clash against SRH was an opportune moment for the management to sanction Choudhary to be a part of the blend. In a frank admittance that it just wasn't Choudhary's day, Fleming reiterated that going through ordeals such as the one Choudhary underwent was a part-and-parcel of the marquee tournament.
“We had a chance to introduce Mukesh Chaudhary today. He was good for us a while back. It wasn’t his day, but that’s part of the IPL,” Fleming was quoted as saying by News18.
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Fleming further went on to state that faced with a dearth of firepower, the journey to uncover a new hero begins, with the essence being managing players as effectively as possible. He also added that the players had been practicing really hard in the buildup to every game, and that there's an immense amount of trust which the support staff have in the current crop. Referencing the powerplay in which 78 runs were blasted by the top 3 of SRH, Fleming stated that the first five-six overs were the easiest to bat in.
“It’s managing players, and when you do find yourself a little bit short on firepower, it’s finding the new hero. It didn’t happen today, but we put trust in the players that we introduced and they’ve been training well and doing the job. Tough baptism. The first five or six overs were the best to bat, and the aggressive way in which they played showed that,” he added.
Having injuries and losing players in the IPL is part of the process: Fleming
When asked whether CSK missed their overseas pacers Matheesha Pathirana and Mustafizur Rahman who missed out due to a niggle and being away to Bangladesh for visa-related formalities, respectively, Fleming responded that the team did miss their services for sure, but it was again, as iterated earlier, a part of the process.
“Without a doubt, it’s part of the IPL. He’s not here, so we can’t use him. But having injuries and losing players in the IPL is part of the process,” the Kiwi added.
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