2026 IPL Coaches / Mentors who previously played for the same team

In the Indian Premier League, there have been several instances when a team hires their former cricketers as their coaches or mentors. There have been times when a player retires and soon after joins the team as a coach. Even though Andre Russell joining KKR soon after retirement is the one case in his list, there have been players who joined after a few years of retirement

Here, there is a list of coaches for the 2026 IPL who have previously played for the team:

1 | Mumbai Indians:

Mumbai Indians have four names in their list- those four names who have built their brand since their inception.

• Sachin Tendulkar: The former MI captain and the face of the franchise, he was there from the very first year (2008) till 2013. However, he has been the mentor of the team, and the icon too, since his retirement.
• Lasith Malinga: The Sri Lankan pacer had been one of the most loyal players of the Mumbai Indians, having had his entire IPL career with MI. A decade-long career saw him taking 170 wickets for MI, and then was appointed by the franchise as a bowling coach in 2023
• Kieron Pollard: Polly, like many Paltans, has been with the squad since 2009, and has never changed his team till 2022, his last IPL season. However, soon after that, he was appointed by the franchise as their batting coach

2 | Chennai Super Kings:

Like Mumbai, Chennai Super Kings have been one of those who have respected their legacy as a part of their syllabus.

• Stephen Fleming: Fleming enjoyed just one season, the inaugral season with Chennai Super Kings. However, soon after his retirement, in 2009, CSK appointed him as the head coach and never changed since then.
• Mike Hussey: Mr cricket Michael Hussey played for CSK since the 2008 season. However, he had drifted to MI in 2014, but then came back to CSK in 2015, which happened to be his final IPL season. In 2018, CSK signed him as the batting coach.

3 | Delhi Capitals:

Delhi Capitals, unlike the two, did not have a history of having icons. Rather, the signings were seasonal.

• Venugopal Rao: The Andhra batter has three seassion with Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals). 2011 was his best of all, where he scored 336 runs. However, DC signed him as the director of cricket in 2024
• Kevin Peterson: The English former captain had a brief period with the Daredevils as a player before the Capiatals signed him as a mentor before the 2025 season.

4 | Kolkata Knight Riders: 

The three-time IPL champions are not too stable with the coaching camp as well. However, with Abhishek nayar, the case is different, as he has recently been promoted from the assistant coach's position to the head coach. However, he was a part of the team mainly as a coach, and he helped many players bloom in international cricket.

• Andre Russell: One of the icons of the Kolkata franchise, who took retirement from the IPL after he was released from the franchise before the IPL 2026 Mini Auction. Soon after that, KKR recruited him as the power coach of the team.
• Tim Southee: The Kiwi pacer had three years with the franchise as a bowler. However, after a year of his departure, he got signed as the bowling coach of KKR ahead of the 2026 IPL season.

5 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru:

One of the most iconic teams in the league, despite not winning the trophy for years, things changed after they had signed Dinesh Karthik as their mentor-cum-batting coach ahead of the 2025 IPL season. 

6 | Gujarat Titans:

Gujarat Titans had signed the Australian keeper-batter Matthew Wade as the team's assistant coach right before the 2025 IPL. Earlier he had played for the the franchise in 2022 and 2024