Zaheer Khan Takes Charge at CSK: Inside the MI Blueprint He Brings to Chepauk

A different seat, a different job

Zaheer Khan arrives at the Chennai Super Kings as a head coach for the first time, stepping into a role that was occupied by the same man for 18 years in an era defined by consistency and five titles. The appointment, confirmed after CSK's talks with Hemang Badani collapsed over contract terms, has been met with understandable excitement given Zaheer's relationship with MS Dhoni and the success the pair shared.

But the source of that excitement is also the source of the central question: can Zaheer carry the qualities he displayed in a relatively detached role at Mumbai Indians into a more hands-on one at Chepauk?

The Rasikh Salam test

In May 2019, Rasikh Salam found himself at a prime location in the Mumbai Indians dugout as the team sought to outdo fellow IPL royalty Chennai Super Kings and clinch a fourth title. Nearly two months earlier, Rasikh had played his first and only game of the season, but that did not alter his seating arrangement. He sat beside MI's then Director of Cricket Operations Zaheer Khan, their conversations flowing as they had all season while one of the greatest finals in the tournament's history unfolded in Hyderabad.

Rasikh, under 18 and still slightly green, was picked on potential and instructed to sit in during matches with the former India pacer. Zaheer drew the youngster into conversations that demanded he think deeper about the game. At the time, much of what the veteran spoke about went over Rasikh's head.

"He [Zaheer] would make notes of what is going on in a particular over, and then ask me what do you think the bowler should do now? He'd ask 'If you were there, what would you do?'. There were a lot of things we spoke about and at that time, I didn't grasp a lot of it, but as I've grown older, I realise the importance of it," Rasikh says.

"I would think why was he telling me to read the game. But he'd say along with your skill, you should know how to read the game. He used to tell me how to go about it and how to use my brain in the game. To train my mindset in that way at that time, I think that was the sign of a great coach."

A soft landing inside a well-oiled machine

In his first coaching role, Zaheer brought an analytical mind shaped by an illustrious playing career. There are no guarantees that instincts from the field translate into coaching, but the early signs suggested they had for him. At MI, though, Zaheer had the cushion of walking into a setup already designed to run at top speed, and an airtight coaching structure ensured nobody stepped on each other's toes. MI were very clear: Mahela Jayawardene was firmly at the wheel as head coach and everyone else worked around him.

"We were very robust in how we scouted. As a management team, we would meet for long periods of time discussing opposition, discussing our own team and then putting together some tactics. Zaheer played a very strong role in that," James Pamment, a key member of MI's coaching staff from 2018 to 2024 as fielding specialist and assistant coach, tells Cricbuzz.

"Tactically, he [Zaheer] was very smart, especially around the bowling aspect with plans. When we were sort of working out how to bowl to the opposition's best players, he had great insight into that. But, on the grass, he was just very personable, almost had a laid-back persona. He was certainly very wise in his knowledge around the technical aspect. But he never overstepped the mark."

In 2020, Trent Boult arrived at MI and found an ally in Zaheer, to talk left-arm fast bowling down to the minute, tactical details. Zaheer was still always mindful about not overstepping his brief, with Shane Bond as the bowling coach.

Zaheer, in fact, brought a lot more to the table than just his tactical nous. "In 2019, we had that amazing win in Hyderabad. But then in the COVID season in 2020, when it was played in Dubai, we were an outstanding team. We were like a well-oiled machine. And he was part of that," Pamment recalls.

"And certainly off the field, he knew the importance of bringing the group together. So, he was very proactive in making sure the owners put on plenty of sundowners, get-togethers, dinners. We were obviously all living in the same bubble. But Zaheer made sure everybody came out of their rooms and joined in and were part of the group."

The arm around the shoulder

Zaheer's stint with MI gave him the space to figure out his approach to a behind-the-scenes role. He did not drive major decisions, or shoulder the burden of big calls. In return for a relatively soft landing in a coaching ecosystem, he offered technical inputs that MI valued dearly, ranging from ways to improve players to motivating those whose opportunities were few and far between.

"At one point, we had Jayant Yadav in our squad. And he would play maybe only two or three games throughout the campaign. But he knew which two or three games he was going to play, so he would prepare himself accordingly. And Zaheer was grooming him in that respect to stay positive. Telling him this is your opportunity, it's coming along, and this is the role that you're going to have to perform. He was very clear and very supportive of the head coach with those types of plans," Pamment says.

His arm around Jayant's shoulders, and how he pushed Rasikh to think, gave a peek into the kind of communicator Zaheer turned out to be at MI: soft, thought-provoking and full of positive affirmations.

"In our environment, he operated in the background. You never really saw him stand up and make a Churchillian-type speech. He was way better just working one-on-one with individuals. He had a great relationship with Rohit Sharma. I know they spent a lot of time having their own discussions, especially around selection," Pamment offers, before bringing in the caveat of the role dynamics. "It's another thing, when you're the head coach, you're pretty much in charge of selection, aren't you? When you're sort of just operating in and around the environment [as a Director of Cricket Operations] you don't carry the end can, do you?"

Chepauk rebuild comes first

Scenes will likely be very different at CSK, where all roads will lead to Zaheer. After a successful tenure with MI, and a forgettable one with LSG, as Director of Cricket Operations, the head coach's job at the other IPL behemoth is a definite step up. He takes over a franchise that has endured two of its worst seasons in the last two years, finishing 10th in 2025 and 8th in 2026. Picking up the pieces and fusing them together might just be the first order of business CSK need from their new man, after the franchise decided to shake up a long-standing coaching structure.

"I think what will come naturally to him is trying to bring the group together and getting everybody on the same page. The team spirit aspect of everybody [being] in it together. That relationship [with Ruturaj Gaikwad] will be pivotal in terms of who's doing what, how they plan, how they review and how they get the best out of each member in the squad," Pamment reckons.

Zaheer also brings the advantage of being a former India international, someone the majority of the squad can look up to. But that reverence could come under strain when he has to make tough selection calls and find his voice at the top of the coaching hierarchy.

"The young Indian players that we had at MI would always be very keen to talk to him and I know that he shared good wisdom with them. But, I guess understanding the process of coaching is important. When you do take a job as a head coach like that, it's not just about what you know. It's making sure that you understand what your players know and how to develop those players and how those players learn," Pamment says.

"Because some guys will be competent enough just to come in and perform and be almost left alone. But there will be a lot of other players who will need strong guidance. And some of it will be technical, some of it…"

Background

CSK named Zaheer Khan as head coach after talks with Hemang Badani collapsed over contract terms, with prior reporting on 21 September 2026 indicating the franchise was operating in a bracket understood to be between Rs 5 and 7 crore. It is Zaheer's third role with an IPL franchise, following spells at Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants, with his exits from both setups coming under less-than-ideal circumstances. The 2017 IPL season was his last as a player, ending a career with 102 wickets from 100 matches.