‘MSD to bat up the order’ says CSK head coach Stephen Fleming

“MS will be batting relatively high. It does depend on the match situation as well. He would definitely play a more prominent role as a batsman,” said the 45-year-old when asked on Dhoni’s probable batting position. Fleming harped on the team’s versatility and said his squad boasts of a number of multi-skilled players. 

“One of the advantages we have is the versatility and getting the right combination is important.. both Indian and overseas,” he added.

Fleming said they had not decided on the opening combination yet adding there were quite a number of players who could do the job. 

“We are not sure yet. It depends on the combination and conditions. We have got a number of options that have been pencilled down. Dhruv Shorey, Faf du Plessis, Watson, Rayudu, Billings, Vijay et al. We have got six of them who can play that role.

“Shorey is a top-order batsman, Sam Billings has played a lot of top order stuff. The combination is not just for opening, for the rest of the side as well,” he added.

The CSK head coach said he expects Mark Wood, South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi to fill the role played by the likes of Ashish Nehra and Albie Morkel in the past in the pace bowling department. 

“(Mark) Wood and Ngidi have got good pace. We have Indian quality in Thakur. Our strong component is spinners,” pointed out the Kiwi.

He heaped praise on veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh and said the Punjab cricketer would have a key role to play this season.

“We are excited to have Bhajji here. I have always rated him high. He will play a big part in the season. It will be different than bowling at the Wankhede (stadium). The bounce and top-spin he gets is more suited to the ground here,” remarked Fleming. 

Fleming also pointed out that Harbhajan had played some good knocks against the teams he has been involved in and said he even batted up the order in one of those. 

“Bhajji has been very annoying. He has played some good knocks against the teams I have been involved in. It will be nice if he can recreate some of the form. He batted up the order in one of the games as well. We should be able to get games done with seven or eight batsmen. But it is nice if we can see eight, nine or ten that can bat decently,” hoped Fleming.