IPL 2019 | I’m not worried about Kedar Jadhav, says Stephen Fleming

Chennai Super Kings have once again dominated proceedings in the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League as they were the first team to confirm a spot in the top four for the knockout stage of the tournament. Under the fine leadership of MS Dhoni, CSK have won nine of their 13 IPL matches this season and currently on course to play the first qualifier as they occupy the top spot in the IPL rankings table.

However, one player in the CSK squad who has been heavily criticised this season is all-rounder Kedar Jadhav. But former New Zealand captain and CSK coach Stephen Fleming has played down speculation surrounding Jadhav’s form as he backed the latter to come through for the Chennai-based franchise.

"The IPL's not over yet. He is certainly one of those players, who plays a difficult role in the middle order. As a middle order batter you can have a lot of opportunity or very little opportunity and sometimes the role is quite diverse. I'm not worried about him, he is very relaxed. He does have one eye on the World Cup, as all the Indian players do in our side.

"For now he is firmly fixed on contributing to the games we have at hand, no worries for me. He's been doing all the right things, just looking for another opportunity," Fleming TOI in a recent interview.

MS Dhoni missed the match against Mumbai Indians as he was down with flu but returned for the latest win against Delhi Capitals on May 1. The World Cup-winning captain scored 44 off 22 deliveries and looked in fine form ahead of a crucial juncture in the domestic league.

"We look at the workload of all the players, just because we are a little bit older than the other team players. So we always monitor that.

"The positive thing about MS being sick last week was he also got some rest. That's one of the challenges when you always want your best player to play. He came back pretty good, his back looks good but was a bit weak from the flu. At this stage of the tournament all players are suffering a bit of fatigue," Fleming added.