IPL 2027 head coaches: all 10 teams & their support staff
Three franchises start IPL 2027 under a new head coach: Zaheer Khan at Chennai Super Kings, Sourav Ganguly at Delhi Capitals and Kieron Pollard at Mumbai Indians. The other seven kept the coach who led them in 2026.
| Team | Head coach | Status | Key support staff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chennai Super Kings | Zaheer Khan | New (replaces Stephen Fleming) | Assistants Albie Morkel, Gareth Batty and Sridharan Sriram; bowling coach Mohit Sharma |
| Delhi Capitals | Sourav Ganguly | New (replaces Hemang Badani) | Assistant and batting coach Yuvraj Singh; fast bowling Chaminda Vaas; spin Amit Mishra |
| Gujarat Titans | Ashish Nehra | Continues | Director of cricket Vikram Solanki; batting coach Matthew Hayden |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | Abhishek Nayar | Continues | Assistant Shane Watson; bowling coach Tim Southee; mentor Dwayne Bravo |
| Lucknow Super Giants | Justin Langer | Continues | Director of cricket Tom Moody; strategic advisor Kane Williamson; fast bowling Bharat Arun |
| Mumbai Indians | Kieron Pollard | New (replaces Mahela Jayawardene) | Batting coach Robin Uthappa; bowling coach Mitchell McClenaghan; mentor Sachin Tendulkar |
| Punjab Kings | Ricky Ponting | Continues | Assistant bowling coach Trevor Gonsalves |
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Andy Flower | Continues | Director of cricket Mo Bobat; batting coach and mentor Dinesh Karthik |
| Rajasthan Royals | Kumar Sangakkara | Continues | Batting coach Vikram Rathour; fast bowling Shane Bond |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | Daniel Vettori | Continues | Bowling coach Varun Aaron; spin consultant Muttiah Muralidaran |
The three new appointments
Zaheer Khan, Chennai Super Kings. Zaheer replaces Stephen Fleming. His staff includes assistants Albie Morkel, Gareth Batty and Sridharan Sriram, with Mohit Sharma as bowling coach. CSK finished eighth in 2026.
Sourav Ganguly, Delhi Capitals. Confirmed on 6 October 2026, replacing Hemang Badani. Yuvraj Singh is assistant and batting coach, Chaminda Vaas fast-bowling coach and Amit Mishra spin coach. Delhi have never won the IPL; their one final was in 2020.
Kieron Pollard, Mumbai Indians. MI's batting coach for the previous four seasons steps up after Mahela Jayawardene left. Robin Uthappa is batting coach, Mitchell McClenaghan bowling coach, T Dilip fielding coach and Dhawal Kulkarni development bowling coach. Mumbai won only four of 14 league games in 2026.
Four Indian head coaches, six from overseas
Zaheer Khan, Sourav Ganguly, Ashish Nehra and Abhishek Nayar are the Indian head coaches. Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, Andy Flower, Daniel Vettori, Justin Langer and Kieron Pollard come from overseas.
What the coaches did as IPL players
Eight of the ten head coaches played in the IPL. Their playing records, from ball-by-ball data:
| Coach | Team now | IPL career | M | Runs | SR | Wkts | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zaheer Khan | CSK | 2008-2017 | 99 | 117 | 82.98 | 102 | 7.59 |
| Sourav Ganguly | DC | 2008-2012 | 59 | 1,349 | 106.81 | 10 | 7.89 |
| Ashish Nehra | GT | 2008-2017 | 88 | 41 | 66.13 | 106 | 7.85 |
| Abhishek Nayar | KKR | 2008-2014 | 60 | 672 | 116.46 | 9 | 8.44 |
| Kieron Pollard | MI | 2010-2022 | 189 | 3,412 | 147.32 | 69 | 8.79 |
| Ricky Ponting | PBKS | 2008-2013 | 10 | 91 | 71.09 | 0 | – |
| Kumar Sangakkara | RR | 2008-2013 | 71 | 1,687 | 121.19 | 0 | – |
| Daniel Vettori | SRH | 2008-2012 | 34 | 121 | 107.08 | 28 | 6.79 |
Pollard is the only one who spent his whole IPL career with the franchise he now coaches. Justin Langer and Andy Flower did not play in the IPL.