7Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has always been known for its stable and calm environment. This stability of the team is considered to be the main reason for its great successes over the years. In such a situation, when head coach Stephen Fleming left the team after 18 years of association at the beginning of this year, the question in everyone’s mind was who would take his place.
After much deliberation, on Monday the franchise announced that Zaheer Khan will be the new head coach of the team for IPL 2027. The clear impression of former captain MS Dhoni is visible behind this decision.
What did Kasi Vishwanathan tell?
CSK Managing Director Kasi Vishwanathan said, ‘We take all our major decisions only after consulting MS Dhoni. When Dhoni suggested Zaheer’s name, the management talked to Zaheer and convinced him for the role. Zaheer is very adept in making strategies, especially in understanding the plans of the opposing team. Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and all the players are very excited to work with him.
Chennai Super Kings has not been able to reach the playoffs since winning the title in the year 2023. The team made some mistakes in the 2025 mega auction, which affected its performance. Although some improvements have been made in batting, the team’s combination is not completely set yet.
There is still a year left for the next mega auction, so the team wants to extract the best performance from its current players. The management believes that Zaheer Khan can perform this work very well.
Why did you trust Zaheer only?
Vishwanathan further said, ‘We needed a coach who could easily connect with the players, and Zaheer is the best choice for this. They are very strong in terms of technology. We felt the need to improve our bowling, and Zaheer can make our fast bowlers like Khaleel Ahmed and Gurjapneet Singh much better.
Even during his playing days, Dhoni always praised Zaheer Khan and considered him the main strategist of his bowling. Dhoni once called Zaheer the ‘Sachin Tendulkar’ of bowling.
Now after years, these two legends have come together again, although this time their roles are different. Both of them have a big challenge to take CSK back to its old heights.