The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the most competitive T20 tournaments in the world and also one of the most popular ones, with millions invested in each franchise.
The stakes are always very high, with all teams fighting every year for the coveted trophy. With a combination of young and experienced players from all over the world, the coaching role becomes really important to ensure coordination, camaraderie, and performance.
Here, we look at the head coaches of each side during the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Former New Zealand batter and captain Stephen Fleming has been associated with CSK as head coach for a very long time. He initially joined the coaching team in 2009, when he retired as a player. Fleming also played for the Super Kings during the first-ever IPL edition. He has also coached the franchise’s sister outfits, such as the Joburg Super Kings in the SA20 and the Texas Super Kings in Major League Cricket.
Under Fleming’s leadership, CSK won their first IPL title in 2011. They haven’t looked back since, having reached a record ten IPL finals. Alongside the Mumbai Indians, CSK have won the IPL trophy the most number of times (five), all under Fleming’s guidance.
The 52-year-old is known to be a highly astute operator in the dugout, with strong tactical acumen and a focus on youth development. He prefers a player-centric approach, prioritising individual strengths over forced team cohesion to optimise performance.
Fleming’s coaching staff for the 2026 season boasts the likes of Michael Hussey as batting coach, Sridharan Sriram and Eric Simons as bowling coaches, and Rajiv Kumar as assistant coach, among others.
Former Indian batter Hemang Badani was appointed the head coach of the Delhi Capitals ahead of the 2025 IPL season, with former coach Ricky Ponting switching his allegiance to the Punjab Kings.
Badani was a reliable player in the middle order in his playing days and an exceptional fielder. His coaching journey has been full of success too. He guided the Chepauk Super Gillies to four titles in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) and has coached in the SA20 as well, having played a pivotal role in SunRisers Eastern Cape’s title triumph. In the International League T20 (ILT20), he guided the Dubai Capitals to the final in 2024.
The 49-year-old has a calm demeanour and possesses sharp tactical acumen. He focuses on each player’s strengths and assigns clear roles and responsibilities to everyone in the team.
Badani’s coaching staff for the 2026 IPL season will have Ian Bell as assistant coach, Munaf Patel as bowling coach, and Venugopal Rao as the Director of Cricket.
Former Indian left-arm pacer Ashish Nehra is the head coach of the Gujarat Titans. Nehra joined the Titans ahead of the 2022 IPL season and led them to the title in his very first season, becoming the first Indian coach to win the IPL in the process. Since then, GT have been one of the most consistent teams in the league, having been runners-up in 2023 and making the play-offs in three out of four seasons.
Nehra has been known to be a proactive, tactical, hands-on coach. He likes to directly communicate with the players and is mostly seen animated on the sidelines during games in a manner more similar to football coaches; cricket coaches usually tend to sit in the dugout.
Nehra has been very successful with the Titans in the short span of time he has been working with them, and his focus on creating a relaxed environment to ensure players perform at their optimum level has worked well for the new franchise.
The GT coaching staff has been strengthened this year with some illustrious names like Matthew Hayden as batting coach, with the likes of Parthiv Patel, Aashish Kapoor, and Narendra Negi joining the setup as assistant coaches.
Sri Lankan great Mahela Jayawardene is the current head coach of the Mumbai Indians. He first joined MI in this capacity in 2017 after the departure of Ricky Ponting.
Alongside CSK, MI are the most successful franchise in IPL history, having won five titles. Jayawardene will again lead the team from the sidelines this year, his role having been changed from the franchise’s Global Head of Cricket to head coach.
The 48-year-old has been a very respected figure in the MI dugout and is known for his superb strategies and planning. Top MI players like Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah have lavished him with praise. His coaching style is mainly data-driven, while his focus on creating a calm and supportive environment to foster top performances goes well with his great man-management skills, which are key when it comes to dealing with top players.
Under his leadership and guidance, MI won three IPL titles in 2017, 2019, and 2020. Since then, their performances have dipped. With Jayawardene back guiding the team, they can be expected to produce stronger performances this season.
Jayawardene’s coaching staff also has Trinidadian and Mumbai Indians legend Kieron Pollard as batting coach, Lasith Malinga and Paras Mhambrey as bowling coaches, and Carl Hopkinson as fielding coach for the 2026 IPL season.
Former Indian player Abhishek Nayar has been appointed as the head coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the 2026 IPL season.
Nayar has been part of the Kolkata-based franchise since 2018. He was earlier tasked with scouting and recruitment strategy for them and has also served the team as an assistant coach.
The departure of former head coach Chandrakant Pandit was imminent after a dismal 2025 season, and Nayar was seen as the perfect replacement. The 42-year-old has already worked with most of the KKR players and has guided them in managing expectations, performing under pressure, and fostering a positive and winning mentality.
Nayar’s coaching philosophy relies on building trust, improving the technical aspects of the players’ game, mentoring them closely, and developing youth talent.
The KKR coaching staff this year comprises several stalwarts of the game. Former Australian batting legend Shane Watson is the assistant coach, New Zealander veteran Tim Southee is the bowling coach, and Dishant Yagnik is the fielding coach, while the legendary Trinidadian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has taken up the mentorship role.
Former Australian opener Justin Langer was appointed as the head coach of the Lucknow Super Giants ahead of the 2024 IPL season.
Alongside the Gujarat Titans, the Super Giants are the other new franchise in the IPL, but in stark contrast to the success that GT have achieved, LSG haven’t been able to have much of an impact in the latter stages of the tournament. This season, they’ll look to change that.
Langer was part of a highly successful and dominant Australian team back in his playing days. Alongside Matthew Hayden, he played a massive part in that success at the top of the order. He has also served as the head coach of the Australian men’s national team, so he possesses a fair amount of coaching experience in a high-pressure environment at the top level.
Langer is an old-fashioned coach who likes to instil discipline, grit, and hard work in his team as opposed to the relaxed, laid-back kind of approach modern coaches often practise nowadays. Though this kind of approach has its pros and cons and could rub some players the wrong way, it also builds character and mentality to perform under pressure.
The LSG coaching staff this year also has several former players fully equipped to assist Langer. Former South African all-rounder Lance Klusener is the assistant coach, Matthew Mott is the batting coach, Bharat Arun is the bowling coach, veteran Kiwi batter Kane Williamson is the strategic advisor, and Abhay Sharma is the fielding coach.
One of the most successful Australian captains of all time, Ricky Ponting switched his allegiance to the Punjab Kings from the Delhi Capitals ahead of the 2025 IPL season.
Ponting has been a coach in the IPL for a long time and had already achieved success with the Mumbai Indians before mentoring the Delhi Capitals. In his very first season with PBKS, he led them to the final. Though they failed at the final hurdle against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, they ended their campaign as one of the best teams to watch last season.
Ponting is known to be an intense, player-focused coach with an aggressive mentality. He tries to instil a winning culture in the team with clear communication and also likes to help players in improving the technical aspect of their game. He also focuses on high-level preparation while taking into account the physical, technical, and mental aspects of the game, encouraging open communication to understand players and what kind of coaching they require.
The PBKS coaching staff is not as expansive as some of the other franchises, comprising Brad Haddin as the assistant coach, James Hopes as the fast-bowling coach, and Sairaj Bahutule as the spin-bowling coach.
Former Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Sangakkara was appointed in a dual role by the Rajasthan Royals after the 2025 IPL season. A legend of the game, and one of the best all-format batters of his generation, Sangakkara has been quite successful in his coaching career as well.
After the departure of Rahul Dravid, Sangakkara has taken on the mantle of head coach alongside the Director of Cricket role for the Royals. He is also not new to RR, having been with the franchise since 2021, during which he helped the team reach the final in 2022.
Sangakkara’s coaching style is similar to his personality: calm, relaxed, and inclusive. He invites players to share ideas and opinions to create a cohesive and positive environment. He doesn’t believe in long training sessions and instead focuses on smart and effective methods to improve players.
The RR coaching staff boasts experienced personnel to help Sangakkara. Former Indian player Vikram Rathour is the assistant coach, former Kiwi quick Shane Bond is the fast-bowling coach, and Trevor Penney is the assistant coach.
Zimbabwean legend Andy Flower became the head coach of RCB ahead of the 2024 IPL season.
Flower already has an illustrious coaching résumé, having led the England men’s national cricket team to incredible success during a five-year coaching stint. He has also been England’s Technical Director of Elite Coaching, a role that saw him mentor county coaches throughout the country.
Flower had already coached in the IPL (with the Lucknow Super Giants) before taking up the RCB job. He brought to the Royal Challengers the same winning culture that has brought him success the world over, guiding them to their first-ever IPL title after 17 seasons of trying.
As a coach, Flower is focused on analytics, utilising data metrics to improve player performance. He also encourages his players to take accountability for their mistakes to build a team that can perform under pressure. Flower also trains players to be versatile and capable of performing in multiple roles, preferring a mix of experienced and young talent in his squad.
The RCB coaching staff this year also have Richard Halsall as the assistant coach, Dinesh Karthik as the batting coach and mentor, Omkar Salvi as the bowling coach, and Malolan Rangarajan as the head of scouting as well as fielding coach.
Former Kiwi bowler Daniel Vettori was appointed as the head coach of SunRisers Hyderabad ahead of the 2024 IPL season.
Vettori already has an impressive catalogue in his coaching career, having coached RCB from 2014 to 2018, served as the assistant coach of the Australia men’s national team, along with coaching stints with teams in several other T20 leagues around the world.
Vettori can be considered a modern-day coach, someone who relies on a data-driven approach to enhancing player performance. He also possesses tactical nous and focuses on aggressive and result-driven performances. As a top-class bowler in his playing days, he can also assist bowlers in changing their mentality and helping with variations as per the conditions.
In his very first season with SRH, Vettori guided them to an IPL final by having them play an attacking brand of cricket, which saw them score 220+ runs almost at will. Though SRH narrowly failed to win the title, they have now firmly established themselves as one of the most aggressive batting sides in the league.
Alongside Vettori, SRH have Simon Helmot as the assistant coach, Hariesh Jaykumar as the batting coach, Varun Aaron as the bowling coach, and Muttiah Muralitharan as the spin-bowling coach.
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