CSK begin the hunt for a new head coach after Fleming’s exit
Stephen Fleming’s 18-year reign is over, and Chennai Super Kings are weighing up their next head coach. Reports point to a preference for an Indian voice, with Rahul Dravid and Hemang Badani among the names in the frame.
Jul 15, 2026
Chennai Super Kings are looking for a new head coach for the first time in a generation, and the early noise around the search says as much about where the franchise wants to go as about who leaves. Stephen Fleming has stepped away after 18 years, and CSK now have to replace the only coach most of their fans have ever known.
The end of a long era
Fleming’s exit closes one of the most successful partnerships in Indian Premier League history. He joined CSK as a player in the first season in 2008 and took over as head coach the following year, and across that time the yellow shirts won five IPL titles and reached the final ten times. No coach in the competition has lasted anywhere near as long.
The last few seasons told a different story. CSK missed the playoffs again in 2026 after a bottom-of-the-table finish in 2025, and the drop-off left the management and Fleming to talk through his future before agreeing a parting. For a side used to being in the last four almost every year, back-to-back lean seasons were reason enough to consider a change at the top.
The names in the frame
No successor has been confirmed, but the reported shortlist points in one clear direction: CSK are said to want an Indian voice in charge. Rahul Dravid’s name has been floated, an appointment that would carry obvious weight given his standing in the Indian game, though he has been cool on full-time coaching since leaving Rajasthan Royals and is separately linked to England’s vacant Test job. Hemang Badani, who has coached Delhi Capitals for the past two seasons and has roots in Tamil Nadu cricket, is the other name mentioned most often.
Others have been linked too. Mike Hesson brings as much T20 coaching experience as anyone available, though he is currently working with Pakistan. And then there is the question that follows CSK everywhere: what role, if any, does MS Dhoni want? Dhoni remains the most influential figure in the dressing room, and any appointment will be made with his view in mind, even if he has shown no sign of wanting the job himself.
What CSK are really choosing
This is more than a coaching hire. CSK spent the Fleming years as the most stable outfit in the league, and the decision now is whether to keep that continuity with a familiar face or hand a rebuild to someone new. An Indian coach with a strong domestic network would fit the way the franchise likes to work, drawing on Tamil Nadu talent and keeping the dressing room settled around Dhoni.
Whoever comes in inherits a squad that needs refreshing and a fan base that expects a return to the top four rather than a slow transition. The auction table and the next captaincy call will tell us more about the direction, but the coaching choice is the first real signal of how CSK plan to climb back. For now, the search is on, and the shortlist looks distinctly homegrown.