MS Dhoni and Zaheer Khan - (Source: CSK/AFP)On Friday, September 25, Chennai Super Kings dropped a 15-minute video of their first interaction with newly-appointed head coach Zaheer Khan. The development comes four days after the 2011 World Cup winner was roped in by the five-time winners for IPL 2027.Zaheer has joined the Men in Yellow for a year long contract. The left-arm seamer was nowhere close to succeeding Stephen Fleming, but his name popped out of nowhere. The fans suspected that MS Dhoni had a huge role to play.Zaheer Khan confirms MS Dhoni’s Role in his appointmentSpeaking with CSK, Zaheer Khan was asked about the process of his appointment. The left-arm seamer replied that it was a simple one and confirmed that MS Dhoni had a big role in it.Zaheer stated that MS Dhoni has been a great force with CSK and knows the right direction the franchise should move in. "The procedure was pretty simple, straightforward. I would say in a typical CSK fashion, you know, obviously MS has been a great force, has been very critical in terms of understanding the direction the team should be," remarked Zaheer."The owners and the CEO, so Rupa and Mr Kasi, they did have a word with me and the conversation was very simple: you know, we want you, if you are available or not. The availability was checked. 'I would love to be part of it, it will be a privilege and an honour', and from then on in it was just about taking things forward and moving on with the formalities,” he added.CSK Approached Ashish Nehra, overseas options before Zaheer KhanRecently, R Ashwin, on his YouTube channel, revealed that CSK approached several legends before settling for Zaheer Khan. Ashish Nehra was the biggest name, but the former India left-arm seamer rejected the role because he is content at Gujarat Titans.Also Read: Revealed- How Many CSK Shares MS Dhoni Has?R Ashwin added that besides Ashish Nehra, the five-time IPL winners approached ‘two other Indian legends’ and a few foreigners as well, but the deal couldn’t materialise. “I think there are two other Indian legends whose contracts also happened. There were a few foreigners whose contracts happened, but the deal couldn’t happen for many reasons. The reasons were very different," Ashwin remarked.Zaheer Khan Talks About His Vision For CSKZaheer Khan also revealed his plans for CSK. He talked about staying ahead of the curve, a practise CSK did for many years before they hit their rough patch in the last few seasons."I think it's about understanding the pressures and the new dynamics of T20. I think you know the game is evolving with every year passing by, and it's about staying ahead of the curve. So when I look back what CSK has achieved over the years is predominantly staying ahead of the curve, understanding and adapting to different situations," Zaheer remarked.Also Read: Luke Williams' Record As Coach Before MI Women Appointment
