Australia legend Matthew Hayden believes Dinesh Karthik will be the right fit as the Chennai Super Kings head coach.
On our latest Scoop Extended interview, Hayden opened up about the vacant head-coach position at Chennai Super Kings. Stephen Fleming and the five-time IPL champions mutually decided to part ways in July this year, and the franchise are yet to announce his replacement, with several options in the mix.
Hayden, who represented CSK for three seasons, named Dinesh Karthik as a good choice to fill that role. Karthik has been serving as the batting coach and mentor for Royal Challengers Bengaluru since July 2024, and also carries out the same roles for London Spirit in The Hundred.
“I feel like Dinesh Karthik would be a really good choice for CSK,” Hayden stated. “He has been under the tutelage of other world-class coaches, including names like Andy Flower, for example, who have had very successful playing and coaching careers.”
Being a local Tamil boy is a very important piece: Matthew Hayden
Further explaining his thought process, the Australia legend stressed on how Karthik, being from Tamil Nadu, would be able to add some local flavour to the franchise. “Being a local Tamil boy, I feel like that's a really important piece,” he added.
“It's not a must-have, but for Tamil Nadu cricket in particular, I just felt like CSK has always been backed by, almost underpinned by, the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. So I feel like some local flavour would be the next best step for CSK, who notoriously pick from afar. You know, they drive over fish to get to fish. There have been very few players that have actually come from Tamil Nadu itself; they play everywhere else. I mean, our side of Gujarat is full of Tamil boys, which we love, because they love the game.”
Hayden, who served as the batting coach for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2026 also spoke about the challenges that foreign coaches face in the IPL, especially regarding communication with up-and-coming players.
“The one thing I'd say is it's very difficult to be a foreign coach in the IPL as well,” Hayden said. “I give great credit to those that do it, because there are some natural language barriers, especially not so much with the seasoned campaigners and veterans of Indian cricket, which the sides are littered with.
“But to have that impact, to the next-gen players, where it's difficult to communicate at times is a little frustrating. And so having that local element that can, if you like, be almost a translator, that can manage up and manage down with no language barriers, I think that's a big factor in the IPL.”
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
