Dwayne Bravo is reportedly set to return to Chennai Super Kings as their bowling coach ahead of IPL 2027, replacing Eric Simons in the role. The move, according to Arattai Squad, would bring the West Indian back to a franchise where he won four IPL titles across over a decade as player and coach.
🚨 DWAYNE BRAVO TO CSK IS LOOKING VERY LIKELY 🚨
– Chennai Super Kings are reportedly planning to bring Dwayne Bravo back as their Bowling Coach ahead of the upcoming IPL season.
– Bravo shares a special bond with MS Dhoni, Stephen Fleming and the CSK management, making a… pic.twitter.com/yavE4a3w7A
— SportsClaus (@sportsclaus) August 2, 2026
Bravo is currently under contract with the Kolkata Knight Riders as team mentor until IPL 2027. According to cricket journalist Abhishek Kumar, Bravo has requested KKR to release him from that contract after receiving an offer from CSK.
“As per sources, Dwayne Bravo has requested KKR to release him from the team, as his contract runs until IPL 2027. It looks like he has received an offer from CSK to become their bowling coach.”
Abhishek Kumar, X post, July 2026
Dwayne Bravo in CSK 👀
As per sources, Dwayne Bravo has requested KKR to release him from the team, as his contract runs until IPL 2027.
It looks like he has received an offer from CSK to become their bowling coach.💛 pic.twitter.com/aJ40yXRRMK
— Abhishek Kumar (@Abhishek060722) July 14, 2026
Bravo’s two seasons as KKR mentor produced diminishing returns. KKR finished eighth in IPL 2025, failing to defend their 2024 title, and had another poor campaign in IPL 2026. His presence at CSK’s ROAR’26 pre-season event in March, while still under KKR contract, had already sparked backlash from KKR supporters. The hashtag #SackBravoFromKKR trended after fans saw their mentor celebrating at a rival franchise’s event during a period when KKR were dealing with injuries to Harshit Rana and concerns over Akash Deep’s availability.
Signs of where Bravo’s loyalties lay were visible even then.
CSK’s Coaching Reset After Fleming’s Exit
This move is part of a far larger shift at CSK. Stephen Fleming stepped down as head coach on July 13 after 18 years with the franchise, ending the longest and most successful coaching partnership in IPL history.
“Eighteen years in sport is akin to a lifetime. I leave purely with a sense of gratitude.”
Stephen Fleming, CSK departure statement, July 13, 2026
Fleming’s exit followed three consecutive seasons without playoffs. CSK finished fifth in 2024, bottom of the table in 2025, and eighth in 2026 with six wins from 14 matches. The franchise is now searching for a new head coach, with Hemang Badani, Rahul Dravid, and Brendon McCullum among the candidates. MS Dhoni is expected to have a say in the appointment, with Ashwin recently backing the idea of Dhoni taking a formal coaching role at the franchise.
Eric Simons served as CSK’s bowling coach through IPL 2025 and 2026. Under his watch in 2026, CSK’s bowling attack maintained a respectable economy rate of 9.6 runs per over, tighter than the four playoff teams. But the problem was wickets. CSK averaged 5.4 wickets per innings compared to 6.4 for playoff sides, roughly one fewer per match. Anshul Kamboj led with 21 wickets but conceded at an economy of 10.52. The attack kept things quiet but could not force breakthroughs, and that is what ultimately kept CSK out of the playoffs.
Bringing Bravo back addresses this directly. His previous stint as CSK bowling coach in 2023 and 2024 was built around death-bowling specialization. Those training sessions, as journalist Venkata Krishna B noted at the time of his departure, “always came across unique.” CSK won the title in 2023 in Bravo’s first season as bowling coach.
CSK have already denied trade rumours involving Hardik Pandya as the franchise shapes its IPL 2027 squad.
Insider Read:
A bowling coach returning to a franchise he already knows is a fundamentally different proposition from a new appointment walking in cold. Bravo spent over a decade at CSK. He knows the Chepauk pitch, the dew patterns, how Dhoni operates behind the stumps, and what kind of bowler Dhoni trusts at the death. His understanding of what works on Chennai surfaces mirrors the kind of detail Sai Kishore recently broke down about grip and pressure adjustments for spinners operating at Chepauk. In a rebuilding year where CSK are replacing their head coach and reassessing their entire squad, the last thing they need is a bowling coach who is also learning the environment. Bravo already has the map.
Sources:
Abhishek Kumar, X, July 2026
SportsClaus (via Arattai Squad), X, August 2, 2026
Dwayne Bravo, ‘Beard Before Wicket’ podcast, January 2026
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