'It's an oxymoron' - Stephen Fleming's cheeky dig when asked about youngsters in CSK team for IPL 2020

Ever since the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have made a comeback in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2018, they are being funnily touted as ‘Daddy’s Army’. However, they defied all the odds to win the title and also made it to the final of the previous season only to lose to their arch-rivals Mumbai Indians (MI). But this time around, the MS Dhoni-led side hasn’t started well and questions are being raised about their fitness.

Before the match against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), they had lost three games on the trot and things were not looking good. Understandably, the coach Stephen Fleming was frustrated. Things changed dramatically in the chase then with Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson gunning down 179 runs together without losing a wicket.

Clearly, Fleming’s frustration turned into delight and when the opening duo was playing well, he seemed to be in a fun mood while talking to the commentators on-air. During the chat, the former India cricketer Anjum Chopra asked him about the youngsters like Sam Curran in the CSK line-up. Fleming had a wry smile on his while responding to the question and said, “Youngsters in our side. It’s an oxymoron.”

CSK win comfortably by 10 wickets

As far as the match is concerned, much to Stephen Fleming’s delight, CSK thumped KXIP by 10 wickets to arrest their three-match losing streak. Watson finally clicked for them scoring an unbeaten 83 while Du Plessis’ good form continued as he mustered 87*.  Earlier, with the ball, CSK committed a few mistakes on the field conceding a few extra runs.

Things didn’t look great for them until the 18th over of the innings began. KXIP’s score read 152/2 after 17 overs but then Shardul Thakur came and snaffled Nicholas Pooran and KL Rahul off consecutive deliveries. Due to these strikes, CSK restricted the opposition to just 178 runs and then gunned down the total with 14 balls to spare.

They are now at the sixth position in the table with four points to their name after five matches and Stephen Fleming will hope that they take the winning momentum into the next few games.