After suffering a five-wicket defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai on Monday, CSK’s hopes of making the playoffs are hanging by a thread. With only one league match remaining, the five-time IPL champions are staring at a third consecutive season without a playoff appearance. Overall, the 2026 IPL season has turned into another disappointing chapter for captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and Chennai Super Kings. Despite the criticism surrounding the team’s performances, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming has backed captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. Fleming admitted that Gaikwad has struggled to find his rhythm with the bat this season but insisted that the captain continues to have the backing of the team management.

"I think Ruturaj can do more. He's done more in the past. He's been a fine player at the top. He hasn't produced the quantity of runs and the pace of runs that he's done in his career, and that's something that he will address. But in conjunction with Urvil Patel, who's come in, who's pretty free-spirited, so there is a combination aspect to it. But that is something that we'll ponder over. I thought today got difficult in terms of the pace of the pitch," Fleming said at the press conference.

Gaikwad’s form has become a major talking point throughout IPL 2026. During CSK’s loss against SRH, Gaikwad managed only 9 runs from 11 deliveries at the end of the powerplay overs. Meanwhile, when asked about the future of captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, Fleming gave a very thoughtful response.

"This year, at least, he was here the whole time. Last year, he wasn't here at all. So it would be unfair to judge that. But, yeah, there's been a lot of work done behind the scenes as we learn about this group of players," he added. 

"It's a big transition from having one of the best captains [MS Dhoni] in the cricket scene running the franchise for such a long time to a new captain. So it's going to take a little bit of time. But he's doing a good job. He has a massive amount of respect for this group of players. And he's learning all the time and putting that into play. So going forward, I have no doubt he'll be a fine captain for this franchise."

Speaking on his future as CSK's head coach, Fleming said it is upto the management to decide.

"I'd say it's a choice for the management. I know there's been a lot of talk about it, but MS has been around a lot this year, which has been really important for the team, for a lot of young players and continuity. So he's been a big part, he hasn't played, but he's still had a big influence on the team. There's a lot of good things we've done. We've introduced some new players that will be hopefully generation players for CSK. But I know we're judged on results, that's fair. So, yeah, it's the management's call, not mine," he said.

Another major point of interest during Monday’s match was the presence of MS Dhoni at the stadium on match day for the first time this season. The legendary former CSK captain continues to remain central to conversations surrounding the franchise’s future. When questioned about Dhoni’s plans for the next season, Fleming revealed that he has not yet had any discussions with Dhoni regarding his future.

"No, we're working through this one," Fleming said.