This year Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the final to win their third title. They have only won the IPL three times before and this is their first title since 2014. Interestingly, Gautam Gambhir who is currently the coach of Indian team has been part of all three trophy-winning squads at KKR. He captained this franchise from 2012 to 2014 during which it lifted two trophies out of three seasons. But he took up a different role this season joining KKR as its mentor.
Gambhir became part of Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) coaching staff in December 2021 and served them during their first two editions in IPL history.
Sanjeev Goenka, owner of LSG, has now acknowledged Gambhir for building everything out of nothing. Goenka said that there was no analyst or scout team for LSG before the auction due to lack of time and that all was done by Gambhir.
“Gautam has played an important role in building up the foundation of this side. If you consider our first auction’s success it is because of Gautam only. We had acquired the franchise just two weeks before the auctions took place. We had no analyst or research team. The entire team belonged to Gautam Gambhir, who did everything and assembled a very balanced team. Each player has his specific role and Gautam performed exceptionally well in his part,” after which Sports Tak interviewed Goenka.
In its first two seasons in IPL, LSG qualified for its playoffs before finishing seventh during IPL 2024.
Prior to the mega IPL 2025 auctions, LSG announced the appointment of ex-India fast bowler Zaheer Khan as mentor of the franchise.
Upon his confirmation, Zaheer expressed that he would serve the team in every possible capacity.
“This is a team game, so I will be serving the team in every possible capacity and yes, it includes bowling. If I am there in the set-up, does the team need another bowling coach? Yes, LSG is just three years old but their journey can be compared with those who have played IPL for 17-18 years. The foundation has been laid out and now we must take it forward.. Working on decision-making will be our primary focus area since it’s one factor which separates teams,” Zaheer said during media interaction at RPSG Group Headquarters, Kolkata.
