'Hard To Replicate Chennai Super Kings Success Story With Rising Pune Supergiants'

Stephen Fleming is surely feeling the pressure as coach of Rising Pune Supergiants. Having lost six of their first eight games, the Indian Premier League debutants, led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, are surely struggling in their first year in the tournament.

Rising Pune Supergiants made smart choices during the IPL players draft in February this year. They bagged the most successful captain in limited overs captain - Dhoni. Along with Dhoni came Fleming, a man known for his shrewd thinking and deep knowledge of the game.

In spite of signing up and spending a fortune on overseas players like Faf du Plessis (ex-Chennai Super Kings) and Steven Smith (ex-Rajasthan Royals) and ex-CSK star Ravichandran Ashwin, Rising Pune Supergiants hoped to achieve the kind of success CSK did under Dhoni's leadership.

After three weeks of IPL, RPS have understood that hiring a similar set of players didn't mean success would easily. Injuries to top players like Kevin Pietersen, Du Plessis and Smith only made it worse for Dhoni and Fleming's squad.

So what went wrong with Rising Pune Supergiants?

"It was new challenge and we were coming out of a situation where we were pretty well placed... it's a lot of hard work (to achieve the results that CSK did)," explained Fleming to NDTV.

Several former CSK players like Dhoni and Raina have said how Chennai became part of their cricket and professional livelihood. For players and support staff to adjust to a new environment after eight years of togetherness at CSK is not easy.

Fleming accepts that.

"We are trying to develop some systems that will enable us to get success and longevity," the Kiwi said.

RPS, of course, have been roped in for only two seasons. Pune and the Gujarat Lions replaced CSK and Rajasthan Royals, who were suspended for two years each due to corruption issues.

RPS play Delhi Daredevils at Kotla on Thursday night. Every match from now on will be a do-or-die as Dhoni aims to win back his charisma as a leader of men facing huge odds.