Chennai Super Kings, who have suffered five straight losses in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, desperately need a turnaround to make the playoffs.

MS Dhoni and co will next take on Lucknow Super Giants, and ahead of the fixture, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming made a candid admission, saying MS Dhoni's return as the captain wouldn't change the team's results overnight.

Last week, MS Dhoni was confirmed as CSK's captain after Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out of the tournament due to a hairline fracture in his elbow. The five-time champions faced an eight-wicket thrashing at the hands of defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders, and hence, CSK is languishing at the bottom of the points table.

Fleming believes that if CSK wants to change its fortune, then it needs to be a team effort rather than dependent on just one individual.

"Dhoni's influence will be always prominent but he's not a soothsayer, he hasn't got a magic wand. He can't just rub it over the side; otherwise, he would have brought it out earlier," Fleming told reporters at the pre-match press conference.

"It's a case of us working very hard along with MS to turn it around, and certainly, in both of our cricketing careers, we've been in situations that require a lot of energy, and we've got to make sure that the energy is put in the right place," he added.

'There's a lot of hurt'

Stephen Fleming also admitted to being hurt after losing the last match against KKR, in which CSK posted just 103/9 in the allotted twenty overs.

The five-time champions have failed to get going inside the powerplay, and the batting lineup has left much to be desired. Even MS Dhoni's batting position has been a subject of debate, with the former India captain coming out to bat at No.9 on two occasions.

"We've got to look at it in small steps and just continue to work to get better at all three facets really and then you start competing," Fleming said. "I think the disappointing aspect in particular the last game was the lack of competition we put up and that hurt a lot," said Fleming.

"So there's certainly been a lot of internal soul searching but also a lot of work around what we need to do and it's important that we put a performance out that is representative of the proud franchise that we are. There's a lot of hurt that we can turn to motivation but it's not about words, it's about players grabbing the moment, finding form, finding their groove and almost shaking off any apprehension which can creep in," he added.