Chennai Super Kings
Stephen Fleming[photo: Twitter]

After taking two wickets in a losing cause for the four-time champions against Gujarat Titans at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming projected a bright future for young Sri Lankan speed bowler Matheesha Pathirana for the franchise in the coming years.

In his debut outing for CSK, Pathirana bowled an economical spell while also getting the wickets of GT opener Shubman Gill and skipper Hardik Pandya to give them a scare in the chase. With five balls to spare, Wriddhiman Saha’s undefeated half-century guided the IPL newcomers to a seven-wicket triumph.

CSK Coach Stephen Fleming (Image Credits: IPL)
CSK Coach Stephen Fleming (Image Credits: IPL)

We, Will, Leave No Stone Unturned For IPL 2023: Stephen Fleming

Fleming had some very nice words to say about Pathirana as he said, “Yeah, great. We were really looking forward to him playing and he has had success straightaway. He is very young, we know the similarities he has with which are big shoes to fill. He had a great debut, and we are really pleased for him. It is a unique skill, and learning to coach how to use that is one of the challenges. It was great for him to get a game with us.”

Matheesha Pathirana. Photo-IPL
Matheesha Pathirana. Photo-IPL

The Super Kings’ head coach also stated that they know where they want to improve heading into next season and that they will leave “no stone unturned” in preparation for IPL 2023.

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“We have got some jigsaw puzzles and we are just trying to fit them all together. It is not just about how a player will perform one day, it is the role that he does. We have got a view to where we want to get to, and where we need to improve for next year. We went through this two years ago, and we got it right. So, we are really working hard on trying to get the jigsaw pieces together.

“There are some places that we probably need to fill as a lot of teams that don’t qualify have that same challenge. What we try and do is see what we have got right now and make sure that we have no stone unturned when we plan for next year,” added Fleming.

This is only the 2nd time in IPL’s history that CSK have not been able to make it to the playoffs. They would hope to bounce back in an empathic fashion next season.

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