“The team didn’t mean so much to me”: Andrew Flintoff once revealed how playing for CSK in IPL never motivated him to give his best

England’s all-rounder Andrew Flintoff was one of the biggest all-rounders to play for England. In the inaugural edition of the IPL, none of the major English players took part. However, the duo of Flintoff and England’s batter Kevin Pietersen gave their name in the IPL 2009 auction, and they engaged a lot of attraction.

Both of them were in heavy demand, and they were the joint highest earners after the auction. They were bought at a price of $1.55 M (approx INR 7.55 crore). Flintoff was bought by the Chennai Super Kings, whereas Pietersen was roped in by Royal Challengers Bangalore.

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Flintoff’s bid created a lot of controversies as well, it was said that Lalit Modi (then IPL commissioner) scripted the all-rounder’s move to the Chennai Super Kings. However, the CSK management denied the same.

Andrew Flintoff once revealed how playing for CSK in IPL never motivated him to give his best

Andrew Flintoff once revealed that he never felt motivated to give his best for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. He said that money has never been a motivation for him to play the game. Flintoff insisted that he loves money, but his relationship with cricket is very different, and he needs an emotional connection.

Flintoff highlighted that he couldn’t even name all the players on the team and his body used to hurt in the middle wearing that yellow jersey. He said that the team did not mean too much to him and that’s why he couldn’t give his best.

“But when I played for Chennai in the IPL in 2009, I couldn’t name everyone in my own team and coaching staff. I remember standing in the middle of the field, in a yellow kit, and my body was sore and hurting, as usual, but I just couldn’t put everything on the line for Chennai. It’s not a reflection on them. It’s simply that the team didn’t mean so much to me,” Andrew Flintoff had written in Daily Mail.

Flintoff’s journey was not great in the IPL, and he got injured after playing just three games for the Chennai Super Kings in the 2009 season. He never played in the IPL after it.