'It Still Hurts Us', Says Stephen Fleming On CSK's Failure To Buy KKR Star in IPL Auction
Varun Chakravarthy dismantled CSK on Sunday night [Source: AP]
Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming has acknowledged that the team's failure to secure Varun Chakravarthy's services during the IPL auction is still a painful memory for the franchise. The statement came after the 61st match of The Indian Premier League where the Kolkata Knight Riders thrashed Chennai Super Kings by six wickets.
After serving CSK as a net bowler for a few years, Chakravarthy's fortunes changed when Kings XI Punjab ( now Punjab Kings) picked him up for a whopping INR ₹8.4 crores in the IPL 2019 auction. However, following an underwhelming debut, he was released by the franchise and subsequently signed by his current team, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the next year.
The 31-year-old bowler from Tamil Nadu has been very much impressive in this IPL, bagging 19 wickets in 13 innings at an average of 20. 58. On Sunday, he played a vital role in KKR's six-wicket victory over CSK, claiming the crucial wickets of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ajinkya Rahane.
In the post-match presentation, Fleming candidly spoke about CSK's regretful inability to acquire Chakravarthy's services, despite being fully aware of his exceptional talent.
Here's what Fleming stated
"It still hurts us, that [not being able to buy him at the auction]. He tortured us in the nets for a number of years, but with the auction and the way it is, we couldn't retain him. And the thing is with the Tamil Nadu players all around the different teams, they knew about him as well and we were unable to keep him a secret."
"He went off a little bit and now he has come back. He had some injuries and now he looks fit. He bowled very well today [Sunday], so he's a weapon. When you have Sunil Narine and him operating, they're a very potent combo in the right conditions. Probably in Kolkata, they don't get the favorable conditions to bowl on, so coming to conditions like this, they excel."
Despite playing at home, CSK struggled a lot against KKR's rampant spin attack. After opting to bat, they managed only 144, which was easily chased down by KKR batters. Therefore, Fleming reckoned that they might have misjudged the playing conditions.
"I am not sure we got the conditions right. Last game, it turned and got considerably harder to bat. This one, actually, had spongy bounce to start and then just lost a bit of sting as the game went on. Very difficult to try and work out what the surface is going to do with the dew. I have said it the whole way through, we are still learning about these new conditions."
After their shambolic loss against KKR, CSK's path to the playoffs has become more challenging. With 15 points from 13 matches, the Super Kings need to win their upcoming game against the Delhi Capitals to secure their place. Alternatively, a loss would leave their fate in the hands of other teams vying for a top-four finish.
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