Former Chennai Super Kings manager, Stephen Fleming, has been roped in by Pune IPL franchisee as the chief coach of the side for the upcoming season which begins on April 9.
RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group Chairman and owner of the IPL team, Sanjiv Goenka, said: “I warmly welcome Stephen Fleming as the Chief Coach. He has been remarkably successful as a player in the international arena and I firmly believe that his technical knowhow, perseverance and organisation skills will work wonders for our team. I have tremendous faith in his leadership ability and believe that it would have a positive impact on our team members.”
Fleming featured as a player for CSK in IPL 2008 and played 10 matches, scoring 196 runs with a highest score of 45. After his retirement in 2009, he was appointed as the coach of the side. He guided the side, along with captain, Dhoni, to two IPL titles and one Champions League Twenty20 title — IPL 2010, CLT20 2010 and IPL 2011. His contract was renewed in 2014 which extended till date. However, CSK was suspended by the IPL committee for two years after the recommendation of the R. M. Lodha panel report to the Supreme Court in July, 2015 following the franchise's Team Principal Gurunath Meiyappan's involvement in betting in IPL 2013.
During the IPL Players' draft in December, Pune picked up India limited-overs captain M. S. Dhoni and his CSK team-mates Ravichandran Ashwin and Faf du Plessis. Along with them, Pune also picked Ajinkya Rahane, Rajasthan Royals' premier batsman and Australia skipper, Steve Smith.
Smith will once again represent the city of Pune, after featuring for the Subrata Roy-owned side in 2012-13. The side withdrew from IPL after the end of the 2013 season over financial differences with the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
The IPL auction is expected to happen on February 6.
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