MS Dhoni is still a part of CSK squad | PC- AFP
Ever since the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) parted ways with the longest-ever-running head coach, Stephen Fleming, social media has been flooded with just one question: Who will become the next head coach of the Chennai-based franchise?
Names such as Rahul Dravid and Hemang Badani have been floating in the reports to be Fleming's successor at the Super Kings. However, the CSK top boss, Kasi Viswanathan, has categorically denied all such claims.
However, the two-time IPL champion spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has proposed a brilliant solution to his former team's management.
Ravichandran Ashwin endorses MS Dhoni as next CSK head coach
Retired from Indian cricket, Ravi Ashwin, now a pundit-cum-part-time cricketer, has endorsed his former captain to take over CSK’s reins, but as the head coach.
"If Dhoni is willing to do that [take over as coach], there is no better person that Chennai Super Kings can go after. If not, they need to find someone who will be able to operate independently and take accountability for his or her own actions,” Ravichandran Ashwin told Cricinfo.
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That said, Dhoni is still an active IPL cricketer, but he missed the entire IPL 2026 due to a series of injuries.
"I think there is a small aspect of uncertainty for anybody who will walk into that dressing room. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a huge name, and he's still very much a part of the discussion when you're talking about a squad that will be picked to play," Ashwin added.
Ravi Ashwin's wonders for CSK at IPL
Ravichandran Ashwin played his first seven seasons at the IPL with Chennai before parting ways with the franchise in IPL 2026, although he returned in 2025 to retire with them.
Under MS Dhoni at Chennai, the veteran off-spinner had spectacular success, especially during their back-to-back triumphs in 2010 and 2011. The Dhoni-Ashwin combo was a treat to watch for fans and a nightmare for opposition batters, as they outsmarted many on countless occasions; one such example is Chris Gayle’s dismissal during the 2011 IPL final.
During his time with CSK, he bowled in 103 innings, scalping 97 wickets at an economy of 6.68. With the bat, he had played a few important cameos for the five-time champions.
What is Ravichandran Ashwin doing currently?
After hanging up his boots from Indian cricket, Ravi Ashwin was seen for the first time in the ongoing MLC season for San Francisco Unicorns, but he was ruled out of the season due to a knee injury.
Moreover, his name is speculated to be England’s next Test head coach, along with Rahul Dravid, Andy Flower, Andrew Flintoff, Justin Langer, Tom Moody, and a few others.
Although injured, he has been selected as the captain-coach of Dublin Guardians in the inaugural European T20 Premier League (ETPL).
It won't be the first time for Ashwin taking the dual job, as he has already done so for Dindigul Dragons in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL).
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