Stephen Fleming wants to take advantage of a familiar environment, working with people you are comfortable around, maintaining continuity, and deepening relationships with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) set-up while coaching Johannesburg Super Kings (JSK), who are also owned by Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited.
Fleming will team up with the captain of JSK, Faf du Plessis, who has played 100 games for CSK. The two hope to capitalise on the Chennai franchise’s familiarity to dominate SA20 early in the next year.
Another CSK player, Moeen Ali, has joined JSK, but it’s unclear how he’ll fit into the two T20 leagues that are now going on at once: SA20 and the ILT20 in the UAE. Eric Simons and Albie Morkel will serve as Fleming’s assistant coaches, Tommy Simsek will serve as the team’s physio, Gregory King will serve as the team’s trainer, and Russell Radhakrishnan will serve as the team’s manager.
“When you get people that you feel really comfortable with, the environment and who you’re with, the culture develops a lot quicker,” Fleming said in a video on CSK’s Youtube channel. “And once you start to get that cohesion and those connections, the longer you can stay together or the more often you can get together, we think there’s an advantage in that. Our relationships runs deep and it hurts when we lose players and it’s exciting when we gain new players but relationships are really important and the support staff have been together…the thread of CSK runs pretty deep.
“Thankfully, through an owner and an ownership that really understands cricket and gives us the opportunity to explore these leadership styles, we’re able to have a really good model that allows people to feel comfortable and be the best they can be, achieve as much as they can in their time with us.”
Fleming stated in jest, “We’ve just done that to make it a little harder for ourselves to prove that we’re not a one-trick pony, which is not a strategic play that Faf was very pleased on. “However, there have been some changes, and one of the abilities of current cricketers is their versatility and ability to play in a wide variety of circumstances. Undoubtedly, we developed a competitive advantage in Chennai, but we haven’t had it in the previous three to four years either. As a result, there has been some genuine learning about how to adjust to different circumstances and settings as well as take care of the environment at home. Therefore, the first year and the first few weeks will be crucial. Long-term strategy
