When you think of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), names like MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, and Suresh Raina instantly come to mind.
But have you ever wondered who are the masterminds crafting the strategies, mentoring the players, and ensuring CSK remain a powerhouse season after season?
From head coach Stephen Fleming to the unsung heroes in the support staff, the CSK coaching staff plays a pivotal role in the team’s success.
But here’s the real question: What do we really know about these coaches?
How much do they earn? What are their roles, and what makes them so indispensable to CSK’s legacy?
If you’ve ever been curious about the brains behind one of the most successful franchises in IPL history, this is your chance to dive deep.
Get ready to uncover the secrets, salaries, and stories of the CSK coaching staff that you won’t find anywhere else. Keep reading—because this is the inside scoop you’ve been waiting for!
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CSK Coaching Staff
Name | Role |
1. Stephen Fleming | Head Coach |
2. Michael Hussey | Batting Coach |
3. Eric Simons | Bowling Consultant |
4. Rajiv Kumar | Fielding coach |
5. Sridharan Sriram | Assistant Bowling Coach |
Head Coach: Stephen Fleming
Stephen Paul Fleming, born on 1st April 1973, is a well-known cricket coach and the former captain of the New Zealand cricket team.
He was a left-handed opening batsman and sometimes bowled slow medium pace with his right hand.
Fleming said goodbye to international cricket on 26th March 2008. He played in the first season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Chennai Super Kings.
Later, in 2009, he became the team’s coach.
Today, he is still the head coach of the Chennai Super Kings and has led the team to win five IPL titles and two Champions League T20 titles.
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Fleming also coaches other teams under the Super Kings brand.
He is the head coach of Joburg Super Kings in South Africa’s SA20 league and Texas Super Kings in Major League Cricket in the USA.
Before this, he was the coach of Melbourne Stars in Australia’s Big Bash League from 2015 to 2019.
About
Full Name | Stephen Paul Fleming |
Born | 1 April, 1973, Christchurch, New Zealand |
Height | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) |
Batting | Left-Handed |
Bowling | Right-arm-medium-slow |
Role | Top-order-batsman |
Stats
Format | Matches | Runs Scored | Average | 100/50 | Highest Score |
Test | 111 | 7172 | 40 | 9/46 | 274* |
ODI | 280 | 8037 | 32.4 | 8/49 | 134* |
FC | 247 | 16409 | 43.8 | 35/93 | 274* |
IPL Career
Fleming was bought by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for $350,000 in the first season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
He played only one season with the team.
In ten matches, he scored 196 runs. That year, CSK came in second place in the tournament.
Coaching Career
Stephen Fleming became the head coach of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in 2009 after he stopped playing cricket.
Under his guidance, CSK won the 2010 IPL season and also did well in the Champions League Twenty20, winning it the same year.
Fleming helped CSK win the IPL again in 2011 and the Champions League Twenty20 in 2014.
In 2016, CSK and Rajasthan Royals were not allowed to play in the IPL for two years.
During this time, two new teams, Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions, joined the league.
Fleming was made the head coach of Rising Pune Supergiants.
When CSK returned to the IPL in 2018, Fleming came back as their coach. That year, CSK won their third IPL title under his leadership.
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He also led CSK to victory in the 2021 and 2023 IPL seasons.
With five IPL wins and ten final appearances, CSK became the most successful team in IPL history, thanks to Fleming’s coaching.
Fleming didn’t just stop with CSK.
In 2022, he became the head coach of Joburg Super Kings in the SA20 league.
In 2023, he also took charge of Texas Super Kings in Major League Cricket. Fleming’s coaching skills have made him one of the most respected names in cricket.
Salary
Stephen Fleming as the head coach of Chennai Super Kings earns an estimated 3.5 crore rupees for a season.
Batting Coach: Michael Hussey
Michael Edward Killeen Hussey, born on 27th May 1975, is a well-known Australian cricket coach, commentator, and former international cricketer.
He played all formats of the game and is famously called ‘Mr Cricket‘.
Hussey started his international cricket career a bit late.
He played his first One-Day International (ODI) match at 28 and his first Test match at 30. Before playing his first Test, he had already scored 15,313 runs in first-class cricket.
During his time playing for Australia, Hussey was part of the team that won several big ICC tournaments.
These include the 2007 Cricket World Cup, the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, and the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy.
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He is respected for his hard work, dedication, and love for the game, which earned him the nickname ‘Mr Cricket’.
Hussey is now a popular cricket coach and commentator, sharing his knowledge and experience with fans and players.
His journey from starting late to becoming one of Australia’s most loved cricketers is truly inspiring.
About
Born | 27 May, 1975, Mount Lawley, Western Australia |
Batting | Left-handed |
Bowling | Right-arm-medium |
Role | Middle-order batter |
Relations | David Hussey (Brother) |
Stats
Format | Matches | Runs Scored | Average | 100/50 | Highest Score |
Test | 79 | 6235 | 51.5 | 19/29 | 195 |
ODI | 185 | 5442 | 48.1 | 3/39 | 109* |
FC | 273 | 22783 | 52.1 | 61/103 | 331* |
IPL Career
Michael Hussey played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for two famous teams: Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.
He was the second player ever to score a century (100 runs) in the IPL.
The first was Brendon McCullum from New Zealand. Hussey made 116 runs not out for Chennai against Kings XI Punjab in 2008. This was a big achievement!
In 2010, Hussey helped the Chennai Super Kings win the IPL trophy. He was a key player for the team.
In 2011, he scored 492 runs in the tournament, with his highest score being 81 not out. He was the fifth-highest run-scorer that year.
Then, in 2013, he had an amazing season. He scored 733 runs, which was the highest by any player that year. This tied the record for the most runs in a single IPL season.
After playing for Mumbai Indians in 2014, Hussey returned to Chennai Super Kings in 2015.
Later, in January 2018, he became the batting coach for Chennai. This means he helped the team’s batsmen improve their skills.
International Career
Hussey got a contract from Cricket Australia in 2004–05 because he played really well in the ING Cup.
His international cricket career was amazing. In Test matches, his batting average was 51.52, and in ODIs, it was 48.15.
He sometimes bowled medium pace, but not often.
In his Test career, he bowled only 98 overs, with 23 of them in 2008. He was mostly used to give the main bowlers a break.
Once, he was even asked to bowl in India to help Ricky Ponting avoid a one-match ban for slow over-rate.
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On 28 December 2008, during the Boxing Day Test, Hussey took his first Test wicket.
He got Paul Harris out, and Mitchell Johnson caught the ball.
His bowling figures were 1/22. In ODIs, he took two wickets in total.
After Retirement
After retiring from cricket, Mike Hussey took up different roles in the cricket world.
In 2016, he helped the Australian team as a batting consultant for the ICC World Twenty20.
He also became a commentator for the Indian Premier League (IPL) that same year.
Later, from the 2018-19 season, he started working as a commentator for Fox Sports.
A few years after he stopped playing in the Big Bash League, Hussey got a big role as the Director of Cricket for the Sydney Thunder team.
He also became the Batting Coach for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) during the 2018 IPL season.
Apart from cricket, Hussey has also helped in social causes.
In 2016, he supported the Cancer Council WA by becoming their ambassador.
Hussey has worked with many teams. He was the batting coach for the England Men’s Cricket team. Now, he is the coach of the Welsh Fire Men’s team.
He took over this role from Gary Kirsten, who coached a World Cup-winning team, in the 2023 season.
In 2023, Hussey got a big honour. He was added to the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame during the Boxing Day Test match.
Salary
After retiring as a player, Hussey became the batting coach for the team. He now earns a salary of 3 crores for his role.
Bowling Consultant: Eric Simons
Eric Owen Simons, born on 9th March 1962, is a well-known cricket coach and former player from South Africa.
In the 1990s, he played 23 One Day Internationals (ODIs) for South Africa as an all-rounder.
Later, he became the coach of the South African national team for two years but was replaced by Ray Jennings in 2004.
From 10th January 2010 to 14th February 2012, Simons worked as a Bowling Consultant for the Indian Cricket Team. This was after India toured Australia in 2011-2012.
For the past 7 years, Simons has been the assistant coach of the IPL team Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
When CSK was suspended for two years, he worked as the bowling coach for another IPL team, Rising Pune Supergiant.
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Recently, he was also named the assistant coach for Joburg Super Kings, a team owned by CSK in the SA20 league.
Simons is one of the key people trusted by the CSK owners, helping the team achieve great success in the IPL seasons.
About
Born | 9 March 1962, Cape Town, South Africa |
Batting | Right-handed |
Bowling | Right-arm-fast-medium |
Stats
Format | Matches | Runs Scored | Average | Wickets | Highest Score |
ODI | 23 | 217 | 15.5 | 33 | 24 |
Fielding Coach: Rajiv Kumar
Rajiv Kumar is a former Indian cricketer.
He was born on 2nd December 1976. He played first-class cricket for teams like Bihar and Jharkhand.
Today, he is the head coach of the Jharkhand cricket team and also works as the fielding coach for Chennai Super Kings, a popular team in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
An interesting fact about Rajiv is that he was once the captain of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the legendary former captain of the Indian cricket team, during their first-class cricket days.
About
Born | 2 December 1976, Patna, Bihar, India |
Batting | Right-handed |
Bowling | Right-arm-medium |
Role | Batsman |
Stats
Format | Matches | Runs Scored | Average | 100/50 | Highest Score |
FC | 84 | 5078 | 39.6 | 10/27 | 164 |
List A | 63 | 1956 | 40.7 | 1/15 | 106* |
T20 | 9 | 175 | 35 | 0/0 | 45* |
Career
Kumar was a right-handed batsman who played cricket for Bihar from 1994/95 to 2003/04.
Later, he played for Jharkhand from 2004/05 to 2010/11.
He also got a chance to play for India ‘A in 1998 against Australia and toured Holland with the India A team in 1999.
In the 1997–98 Ranji Trophy, he was the third-highest run-scorer, making 805 runs with an average of 57.50. He scored three centuries in that season.
When Jharkhand replaced Bihar in domestic cricket in 2004/05, Kumar started playing for Jharkhand.
He also played for East Zone and Wills’ XI. He even captained Jharkhand in a few matches.
In 2007, he joined the Indian Cricket League (ICL), which was not approved by the BCCI, and played for the Royal Bengal Tigers (Kolkata Tigers).
However, he later returned to domestic cricket after accepting the BCCI’s offer for ICL players to come back. He played his last match in December 2010.
After retiring, Kumar became the coach of the Jharkhand under-19 team in 2014.
Before the 2015/16 season, the Jharkhand State Cricket Association made him the head coach of the Jharkhand senior team, taking over from V. Venkatram.
Assistant Bowling Coach: Sridharan Sriram
Sridharan Sriram is a former Indian cricketer and now a cricket coach.
He was born on 21st February 1976. He is a left-handed batsman and also bowls left-arm spin.
During his playing days, he was part of the Indian Cricket League (ICL) and the Indian Premier League (IPL).
He was also in the Indian team that came second in the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy.
On 19th August 2022, Sriram got a big role.
He became the technical consultant for the Bangladesh national cricket team for T20 matches. His job was to help the team until the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Sriram is known for his deep knowledge of cricket.
He has worked hard to help players improve their skills. His experience as a player and coach makes him a valuable person in the cricket world.
About
Born | 21 February, 1976, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
Batting | Left-handed |
Bowling | Slow left-arm orthodox |
Role | Batsman |
Stats
Format | Matches | Runs Scored | Average | Wickets | Highest Score |
ODI | 8 | 81 | 13.5 | 3 | 57 |
FC | 133 | 9539 | 52.9 | 85 | 288 |
List A | 147 | 4169 | 33.6 | 115 | 148* |
Coaching Career
He worked with the Australia A team when they came to India in 2015.
Later, he was chosen as a coaching advisor for the Australian cricket team during their Test matches in Bangladesh in the same year.
He also travelled with the Australian team during the 2019 Ashes series.
In 2019, he got the role of batting and spin bowling coach for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
He also worked as the spin bowling coach for Australia when they played a 4-match Test series against India in 2018.
On 19th August 2022, he was named as a technical advisor for the Bangladesh cricket team, but only for T20 matches.
In 2025, he joined Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as their assistant bowling coach for the IPL 2025 season.
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