3 min readChennaiMay 19, 2026 08:48 AM IST As the five-wicket defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad pushed Chennai Super Kings to the brink, their hopes of qualification for the play-offs isn’t in their hands anymore. Should they fail to make it, it would be the third successive season that Chennai have failed to make the play-offs. With the pressure piling on head coach Stephen Fleming, the Kiwi has refused to confirm his continuity, revealing the decision would be taken by the management. Since arriving at the franchise as a player during the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008, Fleming took charge as the head coach in the 2009 and has since become the longest serving coach at any IPL franchise. With 5 titles and two Champions League titles, Fleming is the most decorated coach in IPL, but after another failed shot at making the play-offs, there has been growing displeasure among the CSK faithful. Those noises had reached Fleming which he acknowledged early in the season. And speaking shortly after their defeat to Hyderabad, Fleming …