India Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and former New Zealand captain and current Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming have worked together in two separate stints for two different Indian Premier League franchises. Both of them first worked together in 2016 during a two-year stint with Rising Pune Supergiants, whereas the second one is ongoing with the Super Kings.
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Ranging from his batting temperament to his probability of representing CSK, Fleming has always had opinions on Rahane. Even during his days at Pune, he had his own reservations about the Indian batter. However, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Rahane managed to impress the former Kiwi skipper on the back of his performance in IPL 2023.
Stephen Fleming Had Considered Ajinkya Rahane To Be ‘Too Eager’ During IPL 2017
Into his second year as an RPS player, IPL 2017 was a time when Rahane had underwent a dip in his white-ball form. Having scored in excess of 450 runs for two IPL seasons in a row, Rahane had failed to get going in the 10th season of the tournament.
In spite of starting the season with a brilliant knock of 60 (34) against Mumbai Indians he couldn’t continue the same rhythm in the subsequent games. Rahane, whose strike rate has mostly been under scrutiny, was at the receiving end of criticism during that season as well.
As quoted by The Times of India, Fleming had felt that Rahane was a bit “too eager” to score runs for the franchise after experiencing a personal dip. He had insisted that Rahane needs to be a little calm in order to score runs at the top considering how openers are generally pressurized regarding giving a quick start to the team.
“What he does when he’s batting normally is good enough. But it’s almost as if he feels the need to do more because people don’t respect the job that he does. All opening batsmen have that anxiety to get underway. He needs to stay calm and play like he can,” Fleming had said.
As Super Giants qualified for IPL 2017 final, Rahane had played a total of 16 innings where he couldn’t reach the two-figure mark five times. Having scored 382 runs at an average and strike rate of 25.46 and 118.26 respectively, Rahane’s returns weren’t enough as a top-order batter.
Ajinkya Rahane Wasn’t Part Of CSK’s Initial Plans In IPL 2023
Post signing veteran India batter Cheteshwar Pujara during IPL 2021 auction, Chennai had surprised everyone again by getting Rahane as part of their IPL 2023 squad. Since Pujara had failed to play a single match for the franchise amid a title-winning campaign, Fleming was expecting a similar fate for Rahane. In an interview with PTI as quoted by India TV News, Fleming admitted that Rahane wasn’t in his initial plans going into the season earlier this year.
Readers must note that Rahane had registered a poor season with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2022. Fleming felt that Rahane always had the thought-process to bat throughout the innings which was not allowing him to achieve optimum potential.
“He wasn’t in our initial thoughts, but the game in 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. He has been unwavering the whole way through he’s been nothing but positive, his nets have been positive,” Fleming had said.
After missing the first two IPL 2023 matches, Rahane got to debut for Chennai against Mumbai. Respective injuries to the English duo of Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali played a vital role in Rahane’s inclusion into the Playing XI. Chasing a 158-run target, CSK had achieved the target in just 18.1 overs with seven wickets to spare.
Not known for playing such knocks, Rahane astonished one and all by smashing 61 (27) with the help of seven fours and three sixes. The way he blasted the bowlers all over the park was a scintillating sight to watch for their fans. Rahane was so confident about his form that he was even assured of doing better in the matches to come.
