Zaheer Khan to meet MS Dhoni in Mumbai before CSK finalise player retentions

Zaheer Khan, the newly appointed head coach of Chennai Super Kings, sat down with the franchise’s team management in Chennai on Monday for his first formal meeting in the role, with the primary agenda being the finalisation of his support staff ahead of the upcoming IPL cycle. The 48-year-old is now set to travel to Mumbai in the coming days to hold discussions with MS Dhoni before returning to Chennai to conduct an initial assessment of the playing group. Those conversations will directly shape CSK’s retention decisions ahead of the November 15 deadline.

Having parted ways with a large portion of the support staff who worked under Stephen Fleming over the years, CSK are pushing for a thorough overhaul of the entire set-up. The franchise failed to make the play-offs last season, and significant changes are on the cards, including the release of several players to allow the team to enter the mini-auction with a meaningful auction purse.

Who is joining the CSK support staff under Zaheer Khan?

In terms of new additions, former England batter Gareth Batty is in line to come on board at CSK. Albie Morkel, who was part of the franchise during its trophy-winning years and currently serves as head coach of Johannesburg Super Kings, is also expected to join the set-up. Mohit Sharma has been identified as the bowling coach for the new cycle.

While CSK have moved on from batting coach Michael Hussey, Eric Simons and Rajiv Kumar, all of whom were part of Fleming’s coaching group, not every member of the previous staff has been let go. James Foster, who came on board in 2026 as fielding coach after serving as an assistant on England’s Test team under Stephen Fleming, will continue in his position with the five-time champions.

Since Foster’s other assignments do not clash with the IPL window, he retains his place. Similarly, Sridharan Sriram will remain part of the set-up, with new roles for both expected to be defined at a later stage. A formal announcement covering the complete support staff is expected once the franchise conducts its trials next month in the lead-up to the mini-auction.

What areas is CSK targeting in the mini-auction?

One department CSK are keen to reinforce is their overseas player group. The franchise has traditionally relied on a strong overseas contingent, with each player expected to be capable of winning matches on their own. However, that area has not delivered to the required standard over the past couple of seasons.

Whether CSK can address that gap through the mini-auction will depend on the quality of overseas players available in the pool at the time. The retention decisions that Zaheer and Dhoni are set to work through before the November 15 cut-off will determine how much auction purse the franchise can carry into that process.