According to a confession by R Ashwin, the Chennai Super Kings discussed hiring Ashish Nehra as head coach before deciding on Zaheer Khan ahead of IPL 2027. On September 21, Zaheer Khan was officially appointed to a one-year deal to replace Stephen Fleming, who left the team after 16 years and five IPL titles to take up the England red-ball coaching position in July 2026.
Ashwin claimed that CSK spoke with several applicants during their hunt in a video that was just uploaded to his YouTube channel.
Ashish Nehra doesn’t need to leave GT. He’s running an absolutely successful franchise in GT,” the veteran said.
As the current head coach of the Gujarat Titans, Nehra established himself as one of the league’s more well-known coaches by leading that team to the IPL title in 2022 and to the final in both 2023 and 2026.
Why did negotiations with other candidates stall?
CSK’s search went much beyond Nehra, according to Ashwin. He mentioned that during the process, numerous international coaches and two other Indian legends were also taken into consideration, but none of those agreements were concluded. The renowned cricket player gave an explanation for why some international applicants did not move forward.
How does Ashwin feel about the hiring of Zaheer Khan?
Zaheer Khan offers a wealth of administrative expertise to the position at CSK. In 2018, he became the Director of Cricket for the Mumbai Indians, and in 2022, he was promoted to Global Head of Cricket Development. Before accepting the CSK post, he later mentored the Lucknow Super Giants throughout the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
Ashwin’s evaluation of the ultimate decision was clear. On YouTube, he stated:
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The IPL 2027 season is covered under Zaheer Khan’s one-year deal with CSK.
