India’s legendary Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara believes that Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is a ‘franchise’ that has always prepared pitches in Chepock according to his strength and hence it is difficult to digest the comments of ‘no domestic advantage’ of head coach Stephen Fleming.
Super Kings faced the biggest defeat in their home ground chasing the target when on Friday, Royal Challengers Bangalore, headed by Silver Patidar, defeated him by 50 runs.
Pujara, who was part of the Super Kings for a session in 2021, said that Deepak Hooda, Shivam Dubey, Sam Curren and Mahendra Singh Dhoni will have to take more responsibility.
Pujara told ‘ESPNcricinfo’, “… in CSK, you cannot complain. This is a franchise where they have been preparing pitches according to their strength. If he (Fleming) is saying that (there is no domestic benefit, he does not get his own pitch), then I was very surprised.
Pujara said that franchisees like Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) always get what they want in terms of circumstances.
Incidentally Knight Riders management is also allegedly unhappy as Eden Gardens curator Sujan Mukherjee has refused to give him a pitch of his choice, on which his chief bowler Varun Chakraborty scored 43 runs in four overs in the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Pujara said, “If you talk about Mumbai Indians, CSK, KKR – I don’t think it’s that they are not getting the pitch they are demanding). About any other franchise, I can still understand. They (three) franchisees ensure that they get the pitch as they want. Playing on home ground has been his strength. “Pujara, who scored more than seven thousand runs in Test cricket, indicated that CSK’s batting probably lacks stamina which can be dangerous in a marathon tournament like IPL.
Pujara said, “Rachin Ravindra, apart from Ruturaj Gaikwad, there is a lot of concern about the batting order as his middle order will have to perform well.” Pujara also said that a staunch fan of CSK will be the most sad that he gives up completely. He said, “CSK has a lot to learn. I have been a part of the franchise. If you are a fan of CSK then you will be really disappointed today. You lose, but the way they lost this match, there will be a lot of disappointment in the dressing room. ‘
