Chennai Super Kings are piecing together a new support staff under head coach Zaheer Khan, and the first significant appointment is taking shape. Mohit Sharma, the 38-year-old seamer who retired from all forms of cricket in December last year, is set to return to Chepauk in a coaching capacity, taking over as CSK’s bowling coach. He will replace Eric Simmons, who held the role under the long-serving Stephen Fleming before the latter’s departure earlier this year.
CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan confirmed the broad strokes of the appointment to Cricbuzz, though the formal signing is yet to take place. “Zaheer is in the process of finalising the support staff. He seems to have zeroed in on Mohit for the bowling coach role. That is my understanding,” Viswanathan said. Once the paperwork is completed, Mohit will become the first member of Zaheer’s coaching setup to be officially confirmed.
What Mohit Sharma Brings to Chennai Super Kings
The appointment carries a certain logic that goes beyond credentials alone. Mohit spent four seasons at CSK as a player, appearing 48 times for the franchise in the IPL and a further ten times across two seasons of the Champions League T20. He knows the culture, the expectations and the demands of playing for one of the IPL’s most high-profile franchises. That familiarity is not a small thing when a team is rebuilding its support infrastructure from the ground up.
As a player, Mohit also represented India in eight T20Is and was a reliable death-overs operator across his domestic and franchise career. His most recent IPL season came in 2025 before he announced his retirement, meaning his knowledge of the current game and the players within it is fresh rather than dated. For a bowling attack that has been one of CSK’s more significant vulnerabilities over the past couple of seasons, having a coach who understands the pressures of bowling in high-stakes T20 environments from personal experience is a resource worth having.
The batting coach position remains unresolved. Michael Hussey, who served in that role until this season and was also reportedly considered for the head coach position before Zaheer was appointed, has not been retained in that capacity. Viswanathan indicated that three or four names are currently in discussion, with a final decision yet to be made.
The wider context of these appointments is hard to ignore. CSK won their fifth IPL title in 2023 but have failed to reach the playoffs in each of the three seasons since. Fleming’s decade and a half at the helm came to an end as a result, and Zaheer has been handed the task of restoring a franchise that has slipped from the pinnacle of the competition.
Mohit’s appointment as bowling coach is the first visible step in that rebuilding process. There will be more to follow as Zaheer finalises his staff ahead of the 2027 season. For a franchise with CSK’s history and expectations, getting those decisions right matters enormously. The early signs suggest they are approaching the rebuild with care.
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