The Lucknow franchise has roped in former India opener and current MP (East Delhi) Gautam Gambhir as its team mentor ahead of next season’s Indian Premier League.
The announcement on Saturday came within 24 hours of the franchise confirming former Zimbabwe captain and England head coach Andy Flower as their head coach.
For Gambhir, “the fire to win still burns bright” as he continues to have the “desire to leave a winner’s legacy”.
“It’s a privilege to be in the contest again. Thanks to Dr (Sanjiv) Goenka and the RPSG Group for including me in the Lucknow IPL team as its mentor and presenting me this wonderful opportunity in their set up,” Gambhir, who played 58 Tests, 147 ODIs and 37 T20Is, said in a release.
“The fire to win still burns bright inside me and the desire to leave a winner’s legacy still kicks me. I won’t be contesting for a dressing room but for the spirit and soul of Uttar Pradesh.”
Sanjiv Goenka, owner of the Lucknow franchise, welcomed Gambhir to the team set-up. “Gautam has an impeccable career record. I respect his cricketing mind and look forward to working with him,” Goenka said.
It was learnt that alongside Gambhir, Vijay Dahiya, a former Kolkata Knight Riders assistant coach and wicketkeeper-batsman, who represented India in two Tests and 19 ODIs, may also join the Lucknow franchise’s coaching staff in some capacity.
Gambhir’s best years in international cricket were from 2008 to 2011. He was part of India’s triumphant side in the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa.
His 97 at the top of the order in the 2011 World Cup final versus Sri Lanka at the Wankhede in Mumbai also played an important role in earning India their second 50-over world title.
Thereafter, he struggled a little bit in terms of consistency at the international level, but that didn’t at all affect his captaincy prowess for the Knight Riders in the IPL. In fact, the Knight Riders could establish themselves as a strong outfit ever since Gambhir was handed the captaincy, which was from the 2011 edition of the IPL.
In his very first season as skipper, KKR could go past the group stage and feature in the knockout phase for the first time in the IPL. The Knights won the IPL crown twice under him, in 2012 and 2014.
His captaincy aside, Gambhir was in pretty decent form with the bat too in both those seasons.
