IPL 2027: CSK Appoint Albie Morkel, Gareth Batty & Mohit Sharma As Assistant Coaches Under Zaheer Khan

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], October 27: Albie Morkel, Gareth Batty and Mohit Sharma have been appointed assistant coaches of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2027.

The trio will work under newly appointed head coach Zaheer Khan as the franchise revamps its coaching staff following Stephen Fleming’s appointment as England’s men’s Test head coach.

Long-Serving Coaching Staff Members Depart

Several long-serving members of CSK’s coaching and support staff have also parted ways with the franchise after spending a decade or more with the team. The departures include batting coach Mike Hussey, bowling coach Eric Simons, strength and conditioning coach Greg King, and physiotherapist Tommy Simsek.

Those retained from last season include assistant bowling coach Sridharan Sriram and fielding coach James Foster, who also serves in a coaching role with the England team. AR Srikanth, one of CSK’s senior officials, will also continue with the franchise.

Morkel And Mohit's CSK Connections

Former South Africa all-rounder Albie Morkel shares a long-standing association with CSK, having represented the franchise from the inaugural IPL season in 2008 until 2013. He featured in 78 matches for the team, scoring 827 runs and claiming 76 wickets, before going on to represent Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Delhi Capitals and Rising Pune Supergiant.

Mohit Sharma, meanwhile, represented CSK across four IPL seasons between 2013 and 2019, claiming 58 wickets in 48 matches. He also turned out for the franchise in the Champions League T20 before going on to play for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans. Mohit enjoyed a successful IPL 2023 campaign with GT, finishing as the team's second-highest wicket-taker and helping them reach the final, where they lost to CSK. He retired from all forms of cricket in December 2025.

Batty Brings English Coaching Experience

Former England off-spinner Gareth Batty has been part of Surrey’s coaching set-up since 2021, guiding the county to three consecutive County Championship titles before they finished runners-up last season. He also served as assistant coach of the Oval Invincibles in the men’s Hundred in 2025 before joining MI London in a coaching capacity this year.

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Zaheer Replaces Fleming As Head Coach

CSK appointed Zaheer after parting ways with Fleming, who had been in the role for 16 years.

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)