Former Indian captain Kris Srikkanth said Chennai Super Kings (CSK) should appoint Chandrakant Pandit as their next head coach if they want MS Dhoni’s reported preference for an Indian coach. Recent reports also suggest Hemang Badani is the frontrunner for the role if Dhoni’s condition is true. Pandit was the head coach of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for three seasons from IPL 2023 to 2025 as well. Under him, the franchise won its third IPL title in 2024.

Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel, “If Dhoni is preferring an Indian coach, then I would go for Chandrakant Pandit. He’s a good guy and has won trophies. But CSK should go for an Indian option. Either the coach must have been a great international player or achieved big as a coach at the domestic or IPL level.”

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“There is no way Hemang Badani should be CSK’s head coach. He didn’t do anything in DC. I don’t know why CSK should go all-out for him. He is nothing special as a coach. When you have Dhoni, why do you even need someone else as coach? Dhoni himself is enough as head coach,” he again said.

However, Kris Srikkanth backed CSK for taking time to appoint its next head coach, following Stephen Fleming’s departure.

“It’s fine that CSK are taking their time. There is no necessity to make the decision in a hurry. The auction will only be in December, so there’s enough time. So they shouldn’t rush it at all and should think calmly to make the right decision,” concluded Kris Srikkanth.