Chennai Super Kings’ head coach, Stephen Fleming praised senior batter, Ajinkya Rahane for his performance.
This year, Rahane looked in quite a different form altogether and amassed 326 runs from 14 games that includes two fifties and a strike rate of 172.48.
Meanwhile, CSK defeated GT in a thrilling final by 5 wickets to clinch their 5th title of the tournament.
When asked about Rahane’s transformation in the cash-rich league, Fleming said that they removed the tag of anchor batter from the former’s mind.
This allowed Rahane to play his natural game and be the player that he is in the IPL.
Said Fleming in the post-match press conference,
My understanding is that we got rid of the tag of being the guy you bat around or bat through. I think that maybe hung over his head a little bit too much and didn’t allow him to be the player that he can be.
Adding further, he stated,
And once that tag was gone, when I turned up halfway through the preseason training, I saw a guy who was in magnificent form.
Fleming says Rahane has been a great player for them this season
Meanwhile, courtesy of Rahane, CSK defeated Mumbai Indians twice this season and this feat came after nine years.
Initially, Rahane was not even in CSK’s plans for this season. But, his innings against the Mumbai Indians set things going in his way.
Rahane was now CSK’s go-to No.3 batter throughout the season.
He wasn’t in our initial thoughts, but the game against Mumbai was really defining. It was one of our best wins in the tournament and he was the big catalyst behind it, so he cemented that No.3 spot.
Concluding, Fleming said,
He has been unwavering the whole way through he’s been nothing but positive, his nets have been positive. Anytime he’s been caught on the boundary or outplaying a big shot, we’ve just reinforced how good he’s playing. So a little bit of belief and just sheer ability- he’s been a wonderful player for us this year.
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