Zaheer and India’s class of 2000s in the IPL coaching circuit

The ex-India pacer is the latest from Sourav Ganguly’s India team to take charge in the franchise league

Mumbai: Indian cricket fans of the 2000s revelled watching the scoresheet go caught Parthiv Patel bowled Zaheer Khan. Or c Dinesh Karthik b Ashish Nehra. Or stumped MS Dhoni b Yuvraj Singh. Empowered to dream, fuelled by Sourav Ganguly’s fire; under Dhoni, India turned those dreams into reality.

Zaheer Khan will reunite with M S Dhoni after being named head coach of Chennai Super Kings. (HT Photo)

Now, Indian cricket’s entire class of 2000s are guiding forces to Gen Next. Zaheer’s announcement as Chennai Super Kings head coach on Monday only extends the trend.

The general direction behind the move is refreshing. For long, the Indian Premier League had become accustomed to having overseas head coaches. Not always by virtue of being the best cricket brains, but because Indian coaches were considered lesser man managers. It’s changing now, and very quickly at that. Ashish Nehra helping newcomers Gujarat Titans to a winning start—he began as RCB assistant coach—led to a shift in mindset at the franchise level.

Rahul Dravid stepping up as Rajasthan Royals head coach after guiding India to a T20 World Cup win in 2024 was hardly surprising. His return to IPL coaching is only a matter of when. Virender Sehwag, another maverick from the 2000s, has been head coach of Punjab Kings before, although less successfully.

In the coming season, Nehra and Zaheer won’t be the only ones heading an IPL coaching staff. Ganguly is the most likely to take full charge of Delhi Capitals. Yuvraj Singh, keen to make a post-retirement career out of coaching, will be assisting Ganguly at DC. There will be possibilities for Karthik too to graduate to a higher role in future.

Part of the reason the band of 2000 is now dominating the coaching circuit is the training ground they benefitted from. It was at the turn of the century that Indian cricket underwent an institutional upgrade with professional coaches and fitness experts taking over and these players were at the front and centre of the team’s winning ways. Not to forget Gautam Gambhir, who is now India’s head coach and VVS Laxman, head of BCCI’s Centre of Excellence.

As the Indian team became Men in Blue, team huddles acting powerfully as optics, those were days of high promise. And more often than not, the champions of the 2000s did not disappoint.

“Left arm taking over” CSK’s official handle posted on X. It didn’t take long for the news to trend given the element of surprise attached, ruling out the glut of overseas names that were tipped to take over from Stephen Fleming.

Zaheer is hardly a left-field choice. In his playing days, once Javagal Srinath left the international arena, the left-arm quick led India’s pace attack and was famously nicknamed ‘gyan baba’ for the number of ideas he could throw at younger pacers for them to benefit.

Zaheer has taken care of cricket development for Mumbai Indians before. With Lucknow Super Giants, he was a mentor. But in his next assignment for the powerhouse franchise in yellow that he will be the most hands-on. And it’s a team environment he would enjoy. Also, working closely with Dhoni, who may have had a big role to play in the recruitment. Now, the duo will hatch plans that will be the most eagerly watched.