Former Chennai Super Kings batter Subramaniam Badrinath has backed the franchise’s decision to part ways with long-time head coach Stephen Fleming after a disappointing IPL 2026 campaign. Fleming, who first joined CSK as a player in the inaugural 2008 season, went on to serve as head coach from 2009 to 2026 and played a major role in shaping the franchise’s golden era.

Under Fleming, Chennai Super Kings became one of the most successful teams in IPL history, winning five titles and consistently remaining among the strongest sides in the tournament. However, CSK’s decline over the last three seasons appears to have forced a major rethink. The Yellow Brigade missed the playoffs in 2024, 2025 and 2026, and the 2025 season was especially damaging as they finished bottom of the points table for the first time in franchise history.

S Badrinath acknowledged Fleming’s value as a man-manager but felt CSK now needs a coach with stronger tactical and technical expertise, particularly as the team moves into a new phase. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Cric It with Badri, he said the franchise can no longer rely only on dressing-room management and emotional balance.

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“With the Indian youngsters coming through the ranks, a coach with great technical and tactical acumen in T20s is needed. Because you’ve to build a squad by picking the right players and grooming them. Just being a man-manager won’t work in the current CSK setup and an actual coach is needed without MS Dhoni. A coach that does more technical work will be needed now. So it’s the right decision to let Fleming go, even though it would have been hard,” S Badrinath said.

Fleming’s most successful years came while working alongside MS Dhoni, who captained CSK from 2009 to 2023 and gave the team a stable tactical core. Badrinath said that arrangement allowed Fleming to focus more on maintaining the dressing-room atmosphere than handling day-to-day tactical calls.

“He was a brilliant man-manager, who would keep the dressing room environment jovial. He would never lose his calm with anyone. He was a thorough professional. He worked well when Dhoni was the captain because MS was the best in the world in terms of tactics. So Fleming’s role was mainly off the field in keeping the players in the right space,” S Badrinath added.

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The former right-hander, who represented CSK from 2008 to 2013, also played a key role in the franchise’s first two IPL title-winning seasons in 2010 and 2011. For Badrinath, Fleming’s departure may be difficult, but it could also mark the start of a much-needed reset for CSK.