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Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming conceded on Friday that the spin department of his side hasn’t been as effective as compared to previous IPL seasons, but denied that the team management has lost confidence on its slow bowlers.
"The spin part of the game is not as effective as it was in previous years so far. That is one area we would like to give a bit of more penetration. But our bowling attack is working well. We can give the spin component in middle overs," said Fleming, said at the media conference ahead of Chennai Super Kings’ IPL match against Kings XI Punjab in Chennai on Saturday.
Asked if captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has lost confidence in Ravichandran Ashwin -- who bowled just four overs in last three games -- and Ravindra Jadeja, Fleming replied: "It is some match situation. Ashwin was the main bowler in the first two games here and was a leading bowler. We know that Ashwin bowls very well in home conditions.
"Jadeja, we feel is a little bit out off, but he is working hard on it. I think the pitch conditions we played during the last three games, we thought favoured medium pace and that pushes spin component back a little bit. But we have got lot of options in our squad. I do not believe that Dhoni lost confidence in them," said the former New Zealand captain.
Fleming was pleased with the performance of veteran pacer Ashish Nehra, the team’s leading wicket-taker.
"Nehra is in good form. I would say he is our ace in bowling. He is a rhythm bowler. When he is in form, Nehra is quite quick and he has got everything working for him. When he is out of rhythm he just struggles but he is in the groove at the moment. He is swinging the ball with good pace and has got good experience behind him.
"Nehra has been a revelation in leading the attack and he leads the group. We are delighted what he has done thus far. What he has done thus far has been outstanding," he said.
On South African batsman Faf du Plessis's role in the team, Fleming said, "In the last game he played the role of finisher very well. It was a crucial game for us and we wanted to finish between 185 or 195. He has come to our group during the last two years in different roles. He is doing very well internationally and for us."
Kings XI Punjab captain George Bailey said his side hasn’t played to potential.
"We have not played to our best potentials so far. We are little bit getting used to different conditions of pitches. To be honest, we batted well the other day. But I do not think we have really done well in all three departments consistently," he said.
"We had periods when we bowled well and our fielding has not been steady. Our batting has probably been little disappointing so far. I don't think that we have played badly either. In a long tournament, I think it is just about playing consistent and try not to have a big gap between your best," said the Australian.
Asked about the team combination for Saturday’s match, Bailey said, "I will play tomorrow and will be right up there. We need to look at whether both Glenn (Maxwell) and Shaun (Marsh) would be playing. We will assess after a look at the wicket. The combination is always going to be difficult. We thought we have a strong squad and whichever the combination that we go with we have to leave out some good players."
Asked if he was happy the way the Indian bowlers have performed so far, he replied, "I am absolutely happy about their performance. Sandeep (Sharma) is showing great capacity to take wickets in top of the innings, which is really important.
"A lot of sides look for that in their sides to break open the top order. He (Sandeep) is showing his versatility and bowling well in any stage of the game. His bowling role is a difficult role to take on. At the death, he is pretty good. We have got good depth."
Asked if he has any plan to counter-attack Brendon McCullum by Axar Patel or Mitchell Johnson, Bailey said, "I have worked on some plans. Going by the conditions here, they have got Brendon, (Dwayne) Smith and (Suresh) Raina going pretty good and whackers of the balls. You do have to come out with different plans and different options."