Stephen Fleming's new coaching job after leaving CSK

The former head coach of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Stephen Fleming, is almost confirmed to be appointed the new Test coach of the England side after emerging as the number one candidate following a week of interviews. He has emerged as the preferred candidate for the job.

Fleming will need to work in tandem with Brendon McCullum, who was removed from the Test coaching role and is working only as the white-ball coach of the side. He was sacked after the end of the Test series against New Zealand, in the wake of Ben Stokes’ retirement from international cricket.

From Chepauk to England: Why CSK and Fleming parted ways after 18 Years

Fleming played the very first season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008 for the CSK side as the batter before being appointed as the coach in the following year. They reached the Playoffs in all the successive editions of the event till 2019, as they went on to win three titles in 2010, 2011, and 2018 in this period.

Fleming continued the job despite their failure in 2020 and got two more trophies in 2021 and 2023 when they got the better of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Gujarat Titans (GT).

In IPL 2026, they ended in eighth position on the points table with just six victories in 14 encounters at a net run rate of -0.345. It has been three successive seasons of CSK not reaching the Playoffs, and the final decision was finally made.

How Fleming beat Jonathan Trott and Richard Dawson to the England job

It has been reported that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is very interested in giving the 53-year-old the job of England’s Test coaching. Flemming, who played 111 Test matches for the Blackcaps, is close to the interview process.

The board is very relaxed about the job as the assistant coach, Marcus Trescothick, is set to fill in on an interim basis for the next home series of three Tests against Pakistan. This will be followed by their trip to South Africa in December. England have only 10 Tests before their next summer’s home Ashes.

Andy Flower was the frontrunner to be the new coach. But the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) head coach won’t take the role, while Fleming seems to have beaten Jonathan Trott, Richard Dawson, and Tom Moody in the role.