CSK break silence on rumours of Suresh Raina returning to franchise in IPL 2026: 'Have to ask if he...'
CSK bowling coach Sridharan Sriram spoke about Suresh Raina's potential return, the CSK great having hinted at a batting coach role during commentary.
Suresh Raina made waves during the broadcast of Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) final game of IPL 2025, as he seemed to drop a hint regarding a potential return to the CSK team in the capacity of a coach. However, current CSK spin bowling coach Sridharan Sriram held the information close to his chest, as he revealed nothing about the situation.
“I don’t know. I have to ask him if he said that,” said Sriram in the post-match press conference after CSK had beaten Gujarat Titans with their most impressive performance of the season in Ahmedabad.
During JioStar’s Hindi broadcast, Raina dropped a hint by saying CSK were on the lookout for a new batting coach before being asked by Aakash Chopra if the new coach’s name began with S. Raina responded by saying the person had the fastest IPL half-century for CSK on the day when Dewald Brevis had registered the second-fastest 50 for the franchise.
Australian great Michael Hussey is currently the batting coach for CSK, but Raina’s comments have led many CSK fans to wonder if the CSK legend will return to the team’s dugout after their first last-place finish in IPL history.
Raina played for CSK for 12 years between 2008 and his retirement in 2021 and is associated with a vastly successful era in the team’s history. However, it is unclear if Raina is expected to come on officially, or if he might be in more of a mentorship position.
“Really don't know what is going to happen, I think the good thing is Fleming and MS, Ruturaj. They've got a clear idea of what went wrong and what needs to be done,” continued Sriram to explain about the situation. “So I think the road ahead is quite clear, which I think is a real positive.”
CSK's room for improvement
CSK do have plenty of room for improvement, particularly in their batting, but have reasons to be enthusiastic.
The breakthroughs of Brevis and Ayush Mhatre as well as the promise shown by Urvil Patel presents a road forward, especially with the return of Ruturaj Gaikwad in 2026. Whether that group has Raina as their guiding hand remains to be seen.
