On Tuesday, two time champion Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming rubbished concerns regarding his team's average age in comparison to other team. A constant topic of discussion surrounding the MS Dhoni-led side since the end of player auctions in January this year. Former Kiwis skipper Fleming, who has coached CSK in each of the eight seasons prior to the two-year suspension, went on to explain the importance of valuing experience and why his focus was on winning the IPL for CSK, and not developing young players.
Chennai Super Kings made it their first priority to reassemble the squad that brought them so much success in the years before their hiatus. In those eight years, CSK made it to six finals and even won two of them. Chennai Super Kings left no stones for older players like Ambati Rayudu (32 years old), MS Dhoni (36), Kedar Jadhav (33), Murali Vijay (34), Shane Watson (36), Harbhajan Singh (37) and Imran Tahir (39).
" I'm here to try and win the competition for the franchise. And that's why we value experience, because we think that gives us the best chance," he added. “ Yes, it is exciting to see young players come and perform. But over a long season, I look for consistency and professionalism. I've found that older players who are still motivated, still fit and still committed, they can provide you consistency that gets you up around mid to top table, which allows you to progress in the competition," Fleming.
