Before the upcoming Indian Premier League season, former India bowler Zaheer Khan is a candidate to become the Lucknow Super Giants’ mentor.
The 45-year-old served as the Mumbai Indians’ (MI) head of global development from 2018 to 2022. Prior to that, he was the team’s director of cricket.
As a player, Zaheer has participated in 100 Indian Premier League games across ten seasons with three different franchises: MI, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Delhi Daredevils. He has taken 102 wickets at an economy rate of 7.59.
“Zaheer Khan is in talks with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for a mentorship role with the franchise keen on bringing in a top former India player well-versed with T20 cricket to have a strong presence within their coaching setup following the departure of Gautam Gambhir,” a report in ESPNcricinfo said.
“Apart from the role of mentor, LSG are also keen on giving Zaheer a wider profile that will mean involvement with the scouting and player-development programmes during the off season.”
Under Gambhir’s guidance, LSG qualified for the playoffs twice in 2022 and 2023. Later, in late 2023, the former India opener joined Kolkata Knight Riders, where he went on to play a crucial part in KKR’s IPL victory this year. He later assumed the position of head coach for India.
In addition, LSG is missing their bowling coach, Morne Morkel. The former pacer from South Africa has taken on the similar position as a supporter of Gambhir in the men’s Indian team.
Two more teams are interested in signing Zaheer before the IPL mega auction, for which the retention guidelines will be revealed by early September. Zaheer withdrew from all forms of cricket following the 2017 season.
PBKS looks for Indian coach.
In search of a Trevor Bayliss replacement, Punjab Kings is eager to appoint an Indian head coach.
They reportedly want to bring VVS Laxman on board, but since he extended his tenure as the BCCI’s National Cricket Academy’s head, it seems unlikely at this point.
