Suresh Raina to join Chennai as batting coach? CSK breaks silence on rumours after team's poor outing in 18th edition of tournament

Five-time champions Chennai Super Kings had a forgettable outing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, becoming the first franchise to get eliminated from the tournament. Ahead of the team's last league match against the Gujarat Titans (GT), Suresh Raina dropped a hint over what the future may hold for him.

Raina who shares a very close bond with MS Dhoni and represented CSK for most of his career, has been linked with a move to the team as a batting coach ahead of the next season. The rumour became a big talking point among fans and even reached the ears of the franchise's current coaching staff.

CSK bowling coach Sridharan Sriram, who came to attend the media after the team's last league clash against GT, was asked about the Suresh Raina rumour. Sriram said that he would first need to speak to the all-rounder and confirm if he said something on these lines.

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"I don't know. I have to ask him if he said that," said Sriram in the post-match press conference after CSK had beaten Gujarat Titans with their most impressive performance of the season in Ahmedabad.

While doing commentary during GT vs CSK clash in Ahmedabad, Raina had dropped a hint by saying CSK were on the hunt for a new batting coach before fellow commentator Aakash Chopra asked him if the new coach's name began with S.

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Raina dropped the biggest hint in the conversation as he said that the franchise's soon-to-be batting coach had hit the fastest IPL half-century for CSK. For the unversed, Australia's great Michael Hussey is the batting coach of the team at present.

As CSK ended their IPL 2025 campaign with just four wins in 14 outings, Sriram the trio of MS Dhoni, Stephen Fleming, and Ruturaj Gaikwad know what went wrong with the side this term.

"Really don't know what is going to happen, I think the good thing is Fleming and MS, Ruturaj. They've got a clear idea of what went wrong and what needs to be done," continued Sriram to explain about the situation. "So I think the road ahead is quite clear, which I think is a real positive."

CSK defeated GT by 83 runs to end their IPL 2025 campaign on a winning note. The franchise earlier faced a blow as their skipper, Ruturaj Gaikwad, was ruled out of the tournament after suffering an injury.