CSK coach Stephen Fleming backs Ravindra Jadeja to regain form

Stephen Fleming

Mumbai, April 16 (IANS)

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) coach Stephen Fleming on Thursday backed under-performing Ravindra Jadeja, saying he does not get many balls to play.

He also said the Saurashtra players' confidence in bowling was a bit down.

CSK face Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium here on Friday.

Jadeja lacking confidence: Fleming

"I have sympathy for Jadeja. It's a hard role to play. If you look at how many balls he has faced over the last one year, probably minimal. So he does not get too many balls to show his wares," Fleming said.

"We are really working hard on his batting. He is a better batter than that. So these two months is about getting his skill up to play rather than making him practice."

With his bowling, I think he needs a little bit of confidence. He needs some overs under his belt. The other guys are bowling well, so the pressure is there. But his four overs are very important," he added.

Fleming happy with players stepping up when required.

When the coach was asked about two different players getting man-of-the-match in two games for CSK (Ashish Nehra and Brendon McCullum) he said: "We have to understand that Twenty20 is a game of hits and misses. But to have different players stand up in different games is a very important component for any team."

"There is also a benefit of not changing the team too much. In T20, form can be very fickle. We have to give players more time to relax and play their natural game," the 42-year-old coach said.