Former England wicketkeeper James Foster has been named as the fielding coach of Chennai Super Kings for the upcoming 19th edition of the IPL. Foster was the assistant coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders from 2020 to 2023. The 45-year-old played a crucial role for KKR, helping the team reach the final of the 2021 IPL season.

He will be working under former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming, who is the head coach of the Chennai Super Kings. Foster is expected to build a healthy rapport with former Australian batter Michael Hussey, who is the batting coach of Chennai Super Kings, as well as former South African coach Eric Simons, who is the bowling coach of CSK. The 45-year-old played for the Three Lions in 11 ODIs, 7 tests and 5 T20Is from 2001 to 2009.

He retired from all formats as a player in 2018. Desert Vipers won the ILT20 in January this year when Foster was the team’s head coach. He has also been appointed as an assistant coach for Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred.   

Foster has also been a part of the coaching staff of the New Zealand and England national teams previously. Chennai Super Kings would be hoping to see improvement in the fielding department as the team management and the franchise have made some changes in the team.

 Foster’s rapport with former India wicket-keeper batter and captain MS Dhoni would be crucial in the CSK dugout. The team has won 5 IPL trophies and would be aiming to improve their performance after a below-par performance last season, where they finished 10th in the points table with just 4 wins and 8 points. CSK play their first game of the 19th edition against Rajasthan at Guwahati, Assam, on the 30th of March.