Zaheer Khan has been appointed CSK’s head coach for IPL 2027, according to Cricbuzz. The appointment ends a three-month search to replace Stephen Fleming, who stepped down in July after 18 years and five IPL titles with the franchise.
This is the first time CSK have handed the coaching role to a fast bowler. Every head coach in the franchise’s history came from a batting or all-round background. Zaheer breaks that pattern.
The move did not come from nowhere. During IPL 2026, Zaheer was already dissecting CSK’s problems on Cricbuzz with the precision of someone studying a team he understood deeply.
“This is going to be a massive test for Ruturaj Gaikwad this season. He is leading a franchise that has achieved so much. MS Dhoni not being there is also a huge factor.”
Zaheer Khan, Cricbuzz, IPL 2026
He saw the transition before he was asked to lead it.
🚨 BREAKING: Zaheer Khan has been appointed CSK’s head coach for IPL 2027 pic.twitter.com/4iZgF9zZvD
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) September 21, 2026
Zaheer’s coaching credentials stretch across franchise cricket. He served as Mumbai Indians’ Director of Cricket Operations from 2018 to 2022, a period in which MI won three IPL titles. He was promoted to Global Head of Cricket Development across MI’s multi-franchise network before moving on to mentor Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2025. After parting ways with LSG, he ran pacer development camps at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in early 2026. He also became co-owner of Anchor Jaffna Kings in the Lanka Premier League this year.
What he has never done is serve as a head coach. This is his first appointment in that role at any level of franchise cricket.
CSK’s decision came through a three-person committee: MS Dhoni, captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, and owner Rupa Gurunath. Reports through the search indicated Dhoni pushed for an Indian at the helm, a shift from CSK’s tradition of overseas-led coaching. Michael Hussey was the frontrunner for weeks. Hemang Badani, Eoin Morgan, Rahul Dravid, and R Ashwin were all linked. Financial disagreements reportedly stalled talks with Morgan. Zaheer’s name surfaced late and landed the role.
The challenge is significant. CSK finished 8th in IPL 2026, their third consecutive season without a playoff appearance. Injuries gutted the squad. Dhoni missed the entire season with a calf strain. Key overseas players underperformed. Fleming himself looked visibly strained before his departure.
“Eighteen years is a lifetime in sport, and I leave with nothing but gratitude. My time with Chennai Super Kings has been the privilege of my coaching career.”
Stephen Fleming, July 2026
Zaheer walks into a dressing room still shaped by Fleming’s two decades.
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CSK was built on a formula: Dhoni finishing games, spin choking the middle overs, and Chepauk’s slow surface doing half the work. That formula stopped producing results three seasons ago. The pitches changed. The squad aged. The bowling attack lacked a clear identity.
Zaheer is the first CSK coach who thinks like a seamer. A bowler who took 311 Test wickets and was India’s highest wicket-taker in the 2011 World Cup sees a squad’s needs differently. Where a batting-minded coach asks how to score more, a bowling coach asks why the team cannot defend totals. CSK conceded over 180 in 10 of their 14 matches in IPL 2026. That is the number Zaheer will see first. His entire coaching career, from MI’s bowling unit to BCCI’s pacer camps, has been about building attacks. CSK have not had someone with that lens before.
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