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Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar questioned the job that CSK head coach Stephen Fleming was doing with the franchise. Manjrekar said that it was time for the franchise to move on from the former New Zealand captain.
Fleming has been associated with the franchise since its inception, for one year as a player and for the rest as its Head Coach.
Fleming presided as the Head Coach for all five of the Chennai Super Kings' IPL trophies and their two Champions League T20 titles.
CSK in IPL 2026
The Chennai Super Kings finished eighth out of the 10 teams in IPL 2026 after winning just 6 of their 14 matches.
The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led team started and ended their campaign wobbly after a promising stretch in the middle. CSK's run of 6 wins in 8 matches was sandwiched between two different streaks of three losses in a row.
CSK have now failed to qualify for the IPL playoffs three years in a row. Incidentally, Ruturaj Gaikwad was the full-time captain in these three seasons, and the season before that, they won the IPL title.
After three constant years of underperformance, both Fleming and Gaikwad are under fire with calls for their sacking increasing by the minute.
Also Read: Stephen Fleming urged to quit coaching role at CSK after IPL 2026 horror show
"It's time to do the right thing" - Sanjay Manjrekar
Speaking to Sportstar, Manjrekar said that the time had come to move on from Fleming. He also opined that the Chennai Super Kings' bad performance across the last few seasons was hardly a surprise to anyone.
There are certain things that you have to do as the right thing. It's time that they did this. One of the things you have to do is change things around. It's not like the Titans, where they have had one bad year; CSK have been quiet for some years now. The reasons are very obvious. It's not like people are shocked that CSK have become this team or have not made it to the playoffs. It is very easy to see what has changed," Sanjay Manjrekar said
Manjrekar also questioned whether Fleming was serving his role efficiently, especially in terms of tactics. He went on to suggest that Sanju Samson should take over the captaincy from Ruturaj Gaikwad.
"I think the leadership can easily go to Sanju Samson, who's done it before. Just set Ruturaj Gaikwad free and make him the batter that he used to be. I don't know how much Stephen Fleming is contributing as coach, because with Dhoni, everything was in his domain, and Fleming was a great guy to have around. He is a guy who knows his cricket; he is not just there for cosmetic reasons. But it is time to shake up a few things," he added.
"Players past their prime have been given important positions" - Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar also went on to criticise the way the Super Kings handled their former skipper, MS Dhoni.
He said that Dhoni being given an important role within the franchise, despite being past his prime, was not a good thing.
