Delhi Capitals have appointed former Sri Lanka fast bowler Chaminda Vaas as their fast-bowling coach ahead of the 2027 IPL season. The announcement came on Saturday 17 October 2026 from New Delhi. Vaas is the latest addition to a support staff that the franchise has reshaped. He will make his IPL coaching debut in 2027.
Vaas takes the place of Munaf Patel, who had worked as the team's bowling coach for the previous two seasons. He joins a group headed by Sourav Ganguly as head coach, while Yuvraj Singh has already been named assistant and batting coach. Yuvraj's appointment came on a Tuesday, also with the 2027 IPL in view, so the coaching team is now taking shape.
Vaas took 355 wickets in 111 Tests and 400 in ODIs. The 52-year-old also played 322 ODIs and six T20Is for Sri Lanka. He was part of the Sri Lanka team that won the 1996 World Cup, and was known for swinging the new ball and bowling accurately in varied conditions.
The franchise welcomed him on its official X handle. "World Cup winner and Sri Lanka's best ever. Welcome to Tiger Territory, coach," Delhi Capitals wrote. Vaas is no stranger to the tournament, having turned out for the now-defunct Deccan Chargers from 2008 to 2010, which covered the first three seasons of the IPL.
Vaas was head coach of Kandy Royals in LPL 2026. Earlier, it was noted that Vaas and Amit Mishra were already in Delhi, working with the academy players of the franchise. The summary says Delhi Capitals are set to bring in Mishra as spin-bowling coach, although the appointment report does not mention Mishra at all.
Mishra is 42 and played his last IPL match for LSG in 2024. He has 174 IPL wickets from 162 matches, which puts him tenth on the all-time list. Delhi Capitals are jointly owned by the GMR Group and the JSW Group, who take turns managing the franchise in a two-year cycle, with the GMR tenure ending in 2026.
As JSW takes over, Delhi Capitals parted ways with Venugopal Rao, the director of cricket, Hemang Badani, the head coach, and Munaf Patel, the bowling coach. The franchise has never won an IPL title. They reached the final once, in 2020, and missed the playoffs in the last two seasons. The coaching staff is being assembled for the 2027 season.
