Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming admitted to the team's IPL Auction 2025 after they slumped to a seventh defeat in nine matches on Friday, losing by five wickets to the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk. A second streak of four defeats this season has also coincided with CSK's worst performance at home ever in the league, with hopes of a Playoffs qualification sliced to shreds. "It is hard to say we got it completely right with the performances that we have had," Fleming said after CSK put on another meek batting performance at home. "So we have been looking over that in detail just around our style of play. Also, looking at how the game is evolving "And it is not easy. And that is why we are proud of our record today. We have been able to be consistent for so long, and it doesn't take much for it to go another way. Other teams have got better, and that is the point of the auction. But we just haven't been able to get it right." Fleming said the situation demanded better understanding and effort from the players. “So you take responsibility from the top down and then you just ask a little more of the players.” “But yeah, that (auction) has to be an area where we need to reflect and say it wasn't as good as what it could have been or it hasn't worked out how we wanted.” 'Auction, a fluid beast' "It is also not perfect science," Fleming said. "The auction is a very fluid beast. It's like buying [for] 25 hours and see it come away at the end of it mentally and sometimes physically exhausted. And to be fair, I still think we have got a good squad. We are not far away. "A couple of key injuries, just a bit of a lack of form. And we have just struggled really to nail a gameplan. We've chopped and changed too much. I think it was trying to look for something that perhaps we felt wasn't there. So yeah, there is a lot of responsibility and soul-searching and it certainly starts with me at the top, 100%," admitted Fleming.
