IPL 2020: Stephen Fleming irked by questions of sending Kedar Jadhav ahead of MS Dhoni against SRH

Stephen Fleming, the Chennai Super Kings’ head coach, wasn’t a happy man after he was asked about promoting Kedar Jadhav ahead of MS Dhoni in the match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Dubai. The Yellow Army lost the match by seven runs and Jadhav could manage only three runs off seven balls before getting out to 18-year-old leg-spinner Abdul Samad.

Dhoni came to bat at a stage when the Super Kings needed to score at around nine runs per over. Fleming felt that the decision to send Jadhav up was a part of strategy since CSK had lost the crucial wickets of Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu with only 36 on the board.

Fleming backs Kedar Jadhav

“Really? Is that a question? He is our No.4, Dhoni primarily is a middle to back-end player. Kedar Jadhav is our No.4, he plays dual roles, if we get off to a good start he might move down and let Dhoni up. If you lose early wickets then your No.4 batsman goes in, so you can’t keep …” Fleming was quoted as saying in the post-match press conference.

The 39-year-old Dhoni came to bat at five, and scored 47 off 36 balls, but his efforts went in vain as CSK couldn’t get over the line at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Fleming also admitted that Jadhav and Shane Watson are under a bit of pressure and are trying to break the shackles. “Both Watson and Jadhav are looking for substantial contributions. Shane can light the fuse at any stage and Kedar the same.

“It’s just our fourth game so it’s pretty early in our cycle of form, but there is no doubt there is pressure and they will be feeling it more than what I am talking about,” he added.

Jadhav and Watson have had similar campaigns with the bat in hand. Even as Jadhav has scored 51 runs at a strike-rate of 108.51, his CSK teammate has 52 runs at 108.33. Having lost three matches in the row after their win in the opening game, the Super Kings are languishing at the bottom.

Their next match is against the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in Dubai in the second of Sunday’s doubleheader.

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