Former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has questioned Zaheer Khan’s appointment as head coach for IPL 2027. Ashwin reckons Khan will be eager to prove his mettle during his one-year tenure, which is a short period for any coach.
Khan doesn’t have any head coach experience, but he has served as Mumbai Indians’ Director of Cricket Operations ahead of IPL 2019, before becoming their head of global development.
More recently, he was named Lucknow Super Giants’ mentor for IPL 2025 but didn’t continue in the next season.
Ashwin reckons Khan might not back a particular player for a longer run if he fails to deliver in a few matches.
Ashwin said on his YouTube Channel, “Say Sanju Samson or Ruturaj Gaikwad or Shivam Dube, when they first heard this news that Zaheer Khan is the coach for one year, how can these players go to him and collaborate by telling him all that has happened over the last couple of years and the things they can improve on in the next two to three years when he is on a one-year contract? If these players say to Zaheer that Kartik Sharma is an excellent player and can bat at No.4, and Zaheer plays Kartik at the position for five games and he fails miserably in all five, Zaheer might think, I have only one year, and I have to deliver results, which could lead to him dropping Kartik Sharma.”
“But if Zaheer knew he had three to four years, he would give Kartik Sharma a long rope in the same situation and groom him at No.4 and make him a champion cricketer. So, I was surprised by the one-year contract. I also heard that many coaches did not agree to this one-year contract. But I am not sure how feasible short-term contracts are.”
Ashwin, the former CSK player, reckons the franchise might have had a discussion with Zaheer Khan regarding a contract extension after IPL 2027.
“Finalizing a coach wasn’t easy at all for CSK, mainly because of this one-year contract. It is tough for the coach. The IPL quality is so high that even if a coach does everything, results are not guaranteed. But we also don’t know the discussions CSK has had with Zaheer. They may have agreed to a fresh contract with him after the next season, based on how next year goes,” said Ashwin (via the aforementioned source).
Zaheer Khan scalped 102 wickets in 100 IPL matches while playing for RCB, MI and DC.
