“I just couldn’t put everything on the line for Chennai”, Andrew Flintoff reveals why he did not like to play for Chennai Super Kings

Andrew Flintoff, an English all-rounder, was a giant among his country’s all-rounders. To my knowledge, none of the prominent English players participated in the first season of the IPL. Yet in the IPL 2009 auction, the pairing of Flintoff and England’s batter Kevin Pietersen drew a lot of attention.

Both were in great demand, and after the auction, they took in the most money. They cost $1.55 million to purchase (approx INR 7.55 crore). As Kevin Pietersen was signed by the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Andrew Flintoff joined the Chennai Super Kings.

Several questions were raised by Flintoff’s offer, with some speculating that former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi had a hand in scripting the all-rounder’s transfer to the Chennai Super Kings. The administration of CSK, however, has refuted these claims.

Andrew Flintoff reveals why he did not want to give his best for Chennai Super Kings

In an interview, Andrew Flintoff said he was never really committed to playing his best for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. He said that monetary gain was never a factor in his decision to participate in the tournament. While Flintoff maintained that money is his No. 1 motivator, he really has to have some kind of connection to cricket in order to take it seriously.

The yellow shirt used to bother Flintoff’s body and he couldn’t identify all the players on the squad, both of which he mentioned. He said that he was unable to give his all since the team did not mean a lot to him.

“But when I played for Chennai in the IPL in 2009, I couldn’t name everyone in my own team and coaching staff. I remember standing in the middle of the field, in a yellow kit, and my body was sore and hurting, as usual, but I just couldn’t put everything on the line for Chennai. It’s not a reflection on them. It’s simply that the team didn’t mean so much to me,” Andrew Flintoff had written in Daily Mail.

While playing for the Chennai Super Kings in the 2009 IPL season, Flintoff was injured after just three games. After then he was never again seen playing in the IPL.