"Doesn't have a magic wand": CSK head coach backs MS Dhoni amid steep expectations of a turnaround

The passionate bunch of CSK fans function a bit different. The group, of thousands and lakhs across the nation, celebrates the fall of wickets of its own team. Why? It's a clear-cut answer, every wicket brings them closer to the moment where their beloved 'Thala' would take the field. Thus, the lot that was saddened by the news of Ruturaj Gaikwad being ruled out of IPL 2025 recovered quickly when it was confirmed that MS Dhoni turns the CSK skipper again. The former champion has a lot of credibility etched to his name as the Chennai Super Kings captain, justified seamlessly by the tally of five title victories for the team. However, with the slump that CSK seems to have fallen into in IPL 2025, a turnaround is a lengthy task to pull. To expect that just Dhoni claiming the team's string alone would script a redemption is an ask too difficult.

Stephen Fleming paints a 'real' picture of comeback under MS Dhoni ahead of LSG vs CSK IPL 2025 match

There is nothing left for MS Dhoni to do in order to prove his mastery as a captain and a player in the game. However, until the 43-year-old is a part of the Chennai Super Kings camp, the majority of expectations cling on to his back. Thus, when the former champion took hold of the CSK captaincy again in IPL 2025, the fans anticipated for CSK to swiftly overturn the streak of four consecutive defeats in the season. However, what followed next was the five-time champions falling in a pit even deeper with an 8-wicket defeat in the CSK vs KKR match. It was for the first time in the history of IPL that CSK lost five matches straight. Now, it's for the first time that the former champions have dropped to the bottom of the IPL points table.

Needless to say, CSK is in dire need of a comeback. However, it's nothing that would shape up overnight for a team that's in a collective batting slump. With the bat, the entire CSK batting order is misfiring, going slow in the powerplay, unable to anchor, and subsequently failing to fire in the middle and the death respectively. In the field, CSK looks like a ghost of its past self, dropping sitters all around, leaking extra runs with misfields. Clearly, Dhoni has a lot on his plate as he takes charge of the matters ahead of the LSG vs CSK match. In the midst of the roaring expectations, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming has brought some elements back in focus.

The CSK head coach explained that the team is in need of a quick comeback. However, just Dhoni returning to captaincy is not the solution. A champion, a hitter, Dhoni is all but a magician. Fleming iterated the same, reminding that Dhoni doesn't have a magic wand. The group is working to turn things around in IPL 2025. How it shapes up remains to be seen and surely a lot of work would go in other than 'Thala' claiming the leadership.

"MS Dhoni's influence will always be prominent, but he's not a soothsayer, he hasn't got a magic wand. He can't just wave it over the side; otherwise, he would have brought it out earlier," Fleming said at a presser ahead of the LSG vs CSK game. "It's a case of us working very hard, alongside MS, to turn things around. Certainly, in both of our cricketing careers, we've encountered situations that demand a lot of energy, and we need to make sure that energy is channelled in the right direction," he added.