Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have signed up former India spinner Sridharan Sriram as the assistant bowling coach, a position which has been empty since Dwayne Bravo's departure. Sriram, who has been with Australia and Bangladesh as a spin consultant and for a couple of years with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) as a batting and spin coach in the past, will return to his home turf in Chennai with the Super Kings for the 2025 edition of the IPL.
"Brought up from the tracks of Chepauk to a packed portfolio of coaching tenures in Australia and Bangladesh, he embarks on this new journey with the pride!," CSK wrote on X (formerly Twitter) announcing the signing. Sriram will join the bowling coach Eric Simmons, head coach Stephen Fleming and batting coach Michael Hussey among others as part of a star-studded support staff.
Sriram, a left-arm spinner and handy batter, played 133 first-class matches and 147 List-A games before representing India in eight ODIs. Sriram got into coaching in 2016, has a pretty impressive CV and has also done commentary and punditry in the past. Sriram will replace Bravo, who has crossed over to the Knight Riders franchise across leagues as a mentor.
Chennai Super Kings failed to qualify for the playoffs last year and will be keen to make amends in what could be the final season of MS Dhoni in yellow. CSK have made a few major tweaks to their squad and setup while retaining the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube and Matheesha Pathirana. With inclusions like Khaleel Ahmed and Noor Ahmad in the bowling department, bringing back Devon Conway, R Ashwin and Sam Curran, while signing quality local backups in Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda and Vijay Shankar, it looks like a well-rounded squad for the joint-five-time champions.
CSK begin their IPL 2025 campaign against the arch-rivals Mumbai Indians on Sunday, March 23.