Fleming turned CSK into one of the IPL's most successful and consistent franchises, winning five titles and two Champions League T20 trophies while reaching the IPL final on 10 occasions. Across changing squads, ageing stars, emerging talent and an ever-evolving T20 landscape, Chennai rarely looked like a side reinventing itself. Instead, they became known for a clear blueprint: backing players over the long term, assigning them well-defined roles and adapting tactics to conditions rather than chasing trends.

After also coaching Joburg Super Kings and Texas Super Kings, Fleming left the Super Kings setup earlier this year before taking charge of England, a side entering a new phase. The attacking philosophy introduced under McCullum and Ben Stokes transformed England's Test cricket, but it has also highlighted areas that still require refinement.

If his time at Chennai offers any clues, three aspects of Fleming's coaching philosophy could shape England's next chapter.

"We don't get too deep into analytics and numbers... we go with gut feel and developing relationships with players"

That quote, delivered after Chennai Super Kings' fourth IPL title in 2021, perhaps best encapsulates Fleming's coaching philosophy. While analytics have become increasingly central to modern cricket, Fleming has long maintained that numbers only tell part of the story. His approach has instead revolved around identifying a player's strengths, giving them a clearly defined role and backing them long enough to succeed.

Shivam Dube's breakthrough is a prime example. Following inconsistent spells with Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals, CSK stripped away the expectation of him being a complete all-rounder and instead tasked him with taking down spin in the middle overs. The clarity paid off. Dube struck at 156.21 in his first season with the franchise, having never crossed 125 in any of his previous three IPL campaigns. He has since maintained a strike rate above 155 in four of his five seasons with CSK and cemented his place in India's T20I side.

Ajinkya Rahane's revival followed a similar pattern. Rather than viewing him as a batter in decline, CSK asked him to attack in the powerplay. He responded with 326 runs at a strike rate of 172.49 in 2023, including a powerplay strike rate of 208.30, and played a key role in another title-winning campaign. Even Tushar Deshpande, criticised for leaking runs in 2023, retained the management's backing because CSK believed in the role he was expected to perform at the death. He finished the season as the franchise's leading wicket-taker with 21 wickets. Deepak Chahar, whose biggest strength is getting the new ball to swing both ways, was deployed as a powerplay specialist during his time at CSK, often completing the bulk of his overs upfront.

That ability to see strengths and assign roles accordingly could prove particularly valuable for England. The post-James Anderson and Stuart Broad era has left the bowling attack in transition, with injuries and workload management preventing the side from establishing a settled core. England have invested heavily in emerging talent, but the next phase is less about identifying players than developing them. Fleming's record suggests he will look to maximise what individuals already do well, rather than expect complete cricketers from the outset - a philosophy that repeatedly paid dividends at CSK.

"Experience is important... guys who have been there and done it before add so much"

While the IPL has increasingly become a competition obsessed with youth and potential, CSK repeatedly built their core around players many believed were past their peak.

The philosophy was most evident in 2018, when CSK returned from suspension with a squad widely labelled "Dad's Army", with an average age of over 33.

But that wasn’t a hurdle. Shane Watson scored 555 runs in 2018 and produced an unbeaten 117 in the final. Ambati Rayudu enjoyed the best season of his IPL career with 602 runs, while Faf du Plessis established himself as one of the tournament's most dependable openers over the next three years. Dwayne Bravo remained CSK's trusted death bowler well into his late thirties, and the following season Imran Tahir claimed the Purple Cap at the age of 40.

In the same vein, MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja continued to form the backbone of the side even as they entered the latter stages of their careers. When Robin Uthappa and Rahane arrived with many believing their best days were behind them, Fleming once again found roles that revitalised them. Uthappa delivered in the 2021 playoffs, while Rahane reinvented himself as an ultra-aggressive top-order batter during CSK's 2023 title-winning season.

The approach was not without setbacks. CSK's ageing squad looked its most vulnerable in 2020, when 11 of the 22 players were over 30 and six of the top seven batters were at least 35, resulting in the franchise's first bottom-two finish. Yet rather than abandoning his philosophy, Fleming refined it, blending experienced campaigners with emerging players such as Ruturaj Gaikwad to win the title the very next season.

England's next great Test side will inevitably be younger. Fleming's record, however, suggests he is unlikely to believe it should become inexperienced overnight. At CSK, succession rarely meant sweeping change; instead it meant refreshing the squad without losing the players who understood how to win. That philosophy may prove just as important in England's dressing room as they begin life without some of the defining cricketers of the past decade.

"He will not be dramatically different from McCullum, though he will run a tighter ship"

That was Michael Atherton's assessment of Fleming's appointment, adding that the New Zealander was "a grown-up" and exactly what England required at this stage. If Fleming's time at Chennai Super Kings is any indication, a "tighter ship" is unlikely to mean a more conservative one. Instead, it could mean a side better equipped to recognise what each game demands.

That ability to evolve has underpinned almost every successful CSK campaign. In 2021, when the IPL was played in two parts, CSK adapted their game accordingly. In the first half, in India, they struck at 150.30 in seven games, the only team to have a strike rate over 140 in the first phase. In the second stage, when the IPL shifted to the slower surfaces of the UAE, the same franchise resisted the temptation to replicate that formula. Their strike rate dropped to 129.56, but they compensated with disciplined bowling, sharper match-ups and greater control through the middle overs to lift another title.

That flexibility extended to personnel. As Chepauk became increasingly spin-friendly, CSK built attacks around Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Maheesh Theekshana and Mitchell Santner. At home, they struck at 135.91 that season, but away from Chennai, the same side had no hesitation in going harder, striking at 163.60. Rather than forcing one formula onto every venue, Fleming repeatedly tailored his resources to the conditions.

Meanwhile, England's attacking philosophy under McCullum has transformed the Test side, but it has also prompted criticism that Bazball occasionally became too rigid in its application. During last year’s Ashes Test in Perth, England suffered a dramatic collapse from 65-1 to 88-6 in the third innings, allowing Australia back into the contest. Similar questions resurfaced at The Oval against India. Chasing 374, England were cruising at 301-3 after Joe Root and Harry Brook had added nearly 200 runs. But once the partnership was broken, the innings unravelled as England lost their remaining seven wickets for just 72 runs to fall six runs short.

In the last four years, the declaration at Edgbaston in the 2023 Ashes, the collapse after dominating the first innings at Lord's despite Nathan Lyon's injury, and England's approach under Ollie Pope during the Oval Test against Sri Lanka, where they played a succession of loose shots in the third innings to let slip the advantage they gained, all showed their inability to recognise when the situation demanded a different approach.

This is perhaps where Fleming could leave his biggest mark. His record suggests he is unlikely to dilute the positive intent that has defined England's Test cricket over the last four years. Instead, he could provide the tactical flexibility to recognise when aggression needs tempering and when conditions demand a different method. CSK's greatest strength wasn’t that they played one brand of cricket better than anyone else; it was that they knew which brand gave them the best chance of winning on that particular day.

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