Lucknow Super Giants announce Zaheer Khan as mentor for next IPL season

Kolkata: The Lucknow Super Giants (IPL)owner Sanjiv Goenka on Wednesday opened up on the speculation of franchise skipper KL Rahul leaving the team ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season.

LSG unveiled former India seamer Zaheer Khan as the mentor of the franchise for the upcoming 2025 season of the Indian Premier League on Wednesday.

Zaheer will fill in the shoes of Gautam Gambhir, who left the role of LSG’s mentor after IPL 2023. Gambhir took up the role of team mentor of Kolkata Knight Riders side that lifted the IPL 2024 title.

Welcome to the Super Giants family, Zak! 💙 pic.twitter.com/0tIW6jl3c1

— Lucknow Super Giants (@LucknowIPL) August 28, 2024

Speaking to the media in Kolkata alongside newly unveiled mentor Zaheer, Goenka said all decisions are medium-term and need to be thought of carefully.

“When you have a mega auction you are bound to have a reset. But you try and maintain as much of the core as possible. The coach Justin Langer continues, [support staff] Lance Klusener and Jonty Rhodes will also be there. So it is a question of improving and going further from where you are now,” he said, as per ESPNcricinfo.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-j1_Msxr1eg

The LSG owner said he has been meeting KL Rahul regularly.

“I have been meeting KL on and off regularly over the last three years. I am surprised this meeting is getting a lot of attention [in the media]. He is integral [to LSG]. He has been here since the inception. For me and for [my son] Shashwat [Goenka, who is also involved in running LSG], he is like family,” Goenka added.

In this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, KL Rahul attracted some criticism for his strike rate despite finishing among the top 10 run-getters, with 520 runs in 14 matches at an average of 37.14, with four fifties.

During his playing career, Zaheer represented Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils in the IPL. He played 100 matches in the IPL and bagged 102 wickets at an economy rate of 7.59.

After his playing days, Zaheer was involved with the MI franchise, first as director of cricket and then head of global development from 2018 to 2022.

In his international career, Zaheer has picked up 311 Test wickets in 92 matches and overall 610 scalps in 309 international matches across all formats for Men in Blue. He is considered one of the greatest left-arm pacers to have played the sport.