IPL 2023: "Hairs On The Back Of Your Neck Stood Up, It Was Unexpected" - Stephen Fleming Recalls One Of His Favourite Memories At Chepauk

The Chennai Super Kings, one of the most successful franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL), had a disappointing performance in the previous edition. The four-time champions finished ninth in the IPL, just above the Mumbai Indians. Ravindra Jadeja was appointed captain before the season, before MS Dhoni took over the captaincy again midway through the season.

The franchise went into the IPL 2023 auction with a plan to strengthen its squad. The MS Dhoni-led team spent a whopping 16.25 crore to acquire English all-rounder Ben Stokes after winning a bidding war with Lucknow Super Giants. Stokes made his IPL debut in 2017 under MS Dhoni, with the Rising Pune Supergiant. He was named the season’s most valuable player for his outstanding performances with both bat and ball.

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Something I Haven’t Experienced Before – Stephen Fleming

Stephen Fleming has revealed one of his favourite memories of playing in Chepauk. He described 20,000 people waiting for MS to come out during a practice session on the ground, something he had never experienced before.

“The noise is a part of it. You associate that with the game. It was actually practice day that really struck home to me when we came back in and MS came out to bat and it was something like 20,000 people for our homecoming. Just the excitement and that noise for a training, was something I haven’t experienced before. It was really unique and I know a lot of players and a lot of people who took note of that,” Fleming said in the video.

“The hairs on the back of your neck stood up, It was unexpected. It was great to try and have the players training in that type of environment. It was a real introduction back to our home ground,” said the CSK head coach.

Also read: PAK vs NZ: “Babar Azam Is The Backbone Of The Pakistan Team And We Will Back Him” – Shahid Afridi

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