Zaheer, who had a 14-year competitive cricket career capped by an ODI World Cup win in 2011, was recently with Lucknow Super Giants as their mentor. The two of them parted ways in 2025. He was with the Mumbai Indians staff from 2018 to 2022, first as director of cricket operations and later global head of development once the owners diversified and bought T20 teams around the world. The CSK job will be his first one as head coach though.

“It’s an honour to be a part of one of the most successful teams in the history of the IPL,” Zaheer said in a CSK press release on Monday. “As a cricketer, I have faced CSK on the field and have thoroughly enjoyed the contests. The atmosphere created by the Superfans at Chepauk make it even more special. I can’t wait to join the legacy franchise with such a rich history.”

Zaheer enjoyed back-to-back title-winning seasons working with head coach Mahela Jayawardene at MI in 2019 and 2020. He played 100 IPL matches, picked up 102 wickets and was part of two finals, 2010 and 2011, losing both to CSK.

CSK have had a difficult time recently. They are yet to make the playoffs since winning the title three years ago in MS Dhoni’s final season as full-time captain. A bottom-placed finish in 2025 prompted a change in the way they function as the franchise looked to bring in more young players, like Ayush Mhatre and Dewald Brevis and Kartik Sharma, but success on the field remained elusive. Fleming, who had been with CSK since 2008 – first as a player then as coach – stepped down as head coach in July 2026 after the team finished eighth in the league with six wins and eight losses.

The CSK owners have teams in the SA20 and Major League Cricket in the USA who were also coached by Fleming. Their replacements are yet to be named.

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