Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming defends auction decisions despite consecutive defeats in the first two matches of IPL 2026.
The five time champions CSK were defeated by Punjab Kings by five wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. They have now lost six consecutive home matches in the IPL. Last season, they finished 10th with only four wins in the tournament. They have not been able to step up so far this season.
Speaking at the post match presentation, Stephen Fleming said he tried to recall the auction process.
He explained that the team had looked at a long list of bowlers during the auction but missed out on some of them. He added that a few of those players may not have been in form at that time but are performing well now.
“I’m trying to think back to the auction process. Around all those names that you’ve talked about and mentioned, I don’t, I can’t remember the dynamics. There was a large list of bowlers that we looked at and missed out on that might have been out of form at the time but are in form now, but trust me, we went over everything,” Fleming said.
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In the auction, Chennai Super Kings tried to sign Jason Holder, who was the leading wicket taker in 2025 in T20s, but they could not secure him for INR 7 crore as Gujarat titans made the winning bid. CSK’s final bid was INR 6.80 crore.
They also faced a setback as Nathan Ellis, whom they had picked for the season, was ruled out due to injury. So far, nothing has gone right for CSK, and their bowling attack has looked weak compared to other teams in the competition.
They lost their first match by eight wickets and then went down by five wickets against Punjab Kings. In two matches, they have taken only seven wickets.
Their main bowler Noor Ahmad, who took the most wickets last season, went wicketless in the previous match. It was also the first time he failed to take a wicket in a home game for Chennai.
Meanwhile, their replacement signing for Ellis, Spencer Johnson, is also recovering from an injury and is yet to join the squad.
Chennai Super Kings will next face the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 5. CSK were beaten by RCB on both occasions last season, and this time they will hope to turn things around and register their first win of the season.
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