Daryl Mitchell has been in and out of the BCCI/IPL team, moving up and down the order.
Just past the halfway point in the IPL 2024, the defending champions Chennai Super Kings are in the middle of the pack, and their first home loss of the season has exposed some flaws.
Having established a reputation for playing with a constant eleven over the years, this season has seen a shift in strategy, with Rachin Ravindra being dropped and Daryl Mitchell moving in and out of the team and up and down the order. They’ve also had to deal with some injury issues, but all of this has forced coach Stephen Fleming to confess that they’re not quite there yet in terms of their finest combination.
“It’s a mix of trying to find that [the best XI], and also a bit of form. We are little bit uncomfortable with some areas, so we’re just trying to find not a quick fix but try and find the right combination,” said Fleming after their game against Lucknow Super Giants on April 23.
“And who are the players that are going to contribute in the back-end of the tournament the most, we’ve got another change coming up with Mustafizur in a couple of games. So we’re just trying to prepare a side that will give us a run home. We have had injuries, we have been a little bit unsettled. But main thing is getting guys in key areas and in form. And sometimes that will take a bit of time. Yeah, there has been some change – some of it has been forced upon us and some of it has been form,” he said.
Mitchell was placed at No. 3 today after previously being utilized in the middle of the order with limited effectiveness.
“There’s a lot of pressure obviously. But getting him [Mitchell] up the order is more comfortable for him I think, or me putting him down the order in a hitting role wasn’t his best position. So we’re looking to redefine that and put him up the order where his best performances have been internationally. And that might take a little bit of time. But certainly, the top three need to contribute the majority of the runs. Ruturaj did that today, so hopefully if he can continue his form and the other guys can pick that up…we’re in each game, we’re not firing in all cylinders in any means but we’re in each game,” said Fleming.
“We’ve had one pitch which was an excellent one I think, it turned and we won comfortably. Yeah, I’d like more synergy between the pitch and what we’re trying to do. And I’d unashamedly say that it’s your home ground, you got to defend and you pick teams accordingly. So when it’s out of sync, you find it very difficult. It’s not quite right yet but you just got to be good enough to play what’s in front of you. We know that we can be stronger if conditions were a little bit different.
“If you look at that we’ve got spinners in the side, Theekshana as well. But it nullifies that when there’s nothing really going on and then there’s the dew as well makes it very difficult. We can wish for it, but if we don’t get it we just have to get on with it. So that’s what we’re doing. But it does take a key component out of our attack. We’ve got Pathirana who’s a weapon, Fiz has done well when it’s slow but the spin department has been made redundant and I’d love it to change,” he added.
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