One man doesn't win the IPL," Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming said on Friday, differing with Gautam Gambhir's viewpoint that one can't say Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the same breath, as India's captain has not won the tournament.
Former India opener Gambhir, who led Kolkata Knight Riders to two IPL trophies in 2012 and 2014, recently said that in a result-oriented franchise environment, Kohli has been "lucky" to have survived despite Royal Challengers Bangalore never winning the coveted title in his eight years as skipper.
But Fleming thought otherwise.
"One man doesn't win the IPL. It's a tough competition to win. It's getting tougher because teams are a lot smarter. Players are conditioned to playing in the IPL. Coaches and managers are getting more shrewd in how they buy and put together teams," Fleming said.
"So just because you're probably the best batter in the world, probably one of the best players in the world, it doesn't mean he's going to have success in the IPL.
"There's a number of things that go towards it. One thing I do know is that when there's a challenge put in front of him, he meets it."
Fleming was speaking on the eve of the IPL-12 opener between CSK and Bangalore at the Chidambaram Stadium. He said South African captain Faf du Plessis, leg-spinner Imran Tahir and New Zealand all-rounder Mitchell Santner had arrived and were available for selection.