Dhoni part of decision making team to appoint Zaheer as head coach, says CSK MD Viswanathan

New Delhi, Sep 21 (IANS) The legendary MS Dhoni was actively involved in the decision to appoint former India pacer Zaheer Khan as the new head coach of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), said the franchise’s managing director Kasi Viswanathan.

Five-time champions CSK on Monday named Zaheer, 47, as their head coach for IPL 2027 and fill the high-profile vacancy left by ex-New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming, who parted ways with the franchise after an 18-year association.

Apart from Dhoni, other CSK cricket management members included owner Rupa Gurunath and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad.

“See, basically, the cricket management took this decision. They wanted Mr. Zaheer Khan as the head coach based on his experience. He has played over 100 games in IPL and was an all-round player.

“So, they preferred that he will be a good option for them and we abided by what the cricket management wanted. Definitely, he (MS Dhoni) was part of the decision when this was taken.

Without his advice, we don't do anything,” Viswanathan said to IANS on Monday.

When asked about Dhoni's future as a player, after he didn’t play a single game for CSK in IPL 2026 due to fitness issues, Viswanathan said, “See, basically, he continues to be a player for us. That is the only thing I can say.”

Viswanathan also confirmed that Zaheer, a member of 2011 ODI World Cup winning team, will have complete autonomy in picking his backroom staff. “He will decide on the support staff,” he said.

As of now, CSK’s support staff includes Mike Hussey, Sridharan Sriram, Rajiv Kumar, Eric Simons and James Foster.

Zaheer, who was previously a trainee at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai, previously served as Director of Cricket Operations and Head of Global Development at Mumbai Indians from 2018 to 2022, before taking up a mentoring role with Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2025.

As a left-arm pacer, Zaheer turned out for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Mumbai Indians, and Delhi Capitals, claiming 102 wickets in 100 matches at an average of 27.27.

But this will be the first time Zaheer will be the head coach of a cricket team, and he can solely focus on CSK due to him having no other franchise T20 cricket coaching commitments.

Outside of coaching and mentoring, Zaheer co-owns Antwerp Anchors in the European T20 Premier League in Belgium, Jaffna Kings in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) in Sri Lanka and Vancouver Anchors in the Super60 league in Canada.

When quizzed on how long the negotiations happened before Zaheer agreed to join the yellow brigade, Viswanathan chose to keep details under wraps.

“That is the process everybody goes through. Those are all things which we need not tell,” he said.

The search for Fleming's successor was far from simple, especially with 2027 being the final season of a three-year cycle. It is understood that extensive conversations happened with various candidates once Fleming left CSK and became England men’s Test head coach.

The insistence on hiring an Indian head coach with previous IPL experience, due to the familiarity with Indian conditions and local players, as well as having previously known Dhoni as a team-mate via India playing days, tilted the scales in Zaheer’s favour.

Notably, CSK's official statement lists Zaheer’s appointment without any reference to a multi-year deal, indicating that it will initially be a one-year stint.

Zaheer's immediate task will be to map out the team's retention strategy and targeted players ahead of the mini-auction in December. Having missed out on the play-offs for three consecutive seasons, all eyes will be on whether CSK will make a strong return in 2027 season before the next mega auction happens.

--IANS

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