Zaheer Khan makes bold pledge to take LSG to next level after becoming mentor

India National Cricket Team bowling great Zaheer Khan was officially appointed as the mentor of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Wednesday, August 28.

Rumors have been floating around for the past few weeks about the Lucknow Super Giants approaching the India legend to join the franchise as the mentor.

Notably, the position of mentor was vacant at LSG since Gautam Gambhir decided to leave the franchise in 2024 to join Kolkata Knight Riders. Gambhir served as the mentor of the team in 2022 - LSG's first season - and 2023. In both seasons, the Super Giants performed well and qualified for the playoffs.

However, in the 2024 season, without a mentor, they weren't able to deliver a good performance and finished in the seventh spot. With the appointment of Zaheer Khan, the owners would be hoping that the team would bounce back from the 2024 season's setback.

As of now, the coaching staff of Lucknow Super Giants looks outstanding as Zaheer is the mentor, Justin Langer is the head coach, Jonty Rhodes is the fielding coach, Lance Klusener is the assistant coach and Adam Voges is the consultant.

Some reports suggest that Zaheer Khan will have a wider profile at LSG as he will serve as the talent development program head and will be involved in scouting.

"I support the Impact Player rule, because..." - Zaheer Khan

All your anticipation ends here!

The King of reverse swing, Indian legend #ZaheerKhan takes charge as the mentor of @LucknowIPL #ZaheerNowSuperGiant@DrSanjivGoenka @ImZaheer pic.twitter.com/sOr9vcyzYu

— RP Sanjiv Goenka Group (@rpsggroup) August 28, 2024

At the press conference, the LSG owner, Sanjiv Goenka, presented Zaheer Khan with a special jersey and announced his appointment. During the same media interaction, the newly-appointed mentor of the franchise stated that he would make sure that the process that is required to take LSG to the next level is followed from the next season. He said (as quoted by Revsportz):

"I will make sure that the process that is required to take LSG to the next level is there. The next season is going to be a special one."

The 45-year-old also talked about the much-debated impact player rule and spoke in favor of it. He said that he likes the rule because it provides opportunities for uncapped players. He said:

"I support the Impact Player rule because it is giving uncapped players a lot of opportunities."

Other than Zaheer joining LSG, the other major news in the franchise is whether KL Rahul will retained as captain or will he be released. Some rumors suggest Rahul wants to quit the franchise and rejoin RCB, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet.

Speaking about this matter at the press conference, Sanjiv Goenka said that Rahul is an integral part of a franchise but denied making any revelations about him leaving or staying.

"KL Rahul is an important and integral part of the Supergiants family," he said.

Talking further about Zaheer Khan, he was one of the key players behind India's 2011 World Cup win, and with the ball, he made an immense contribution to Indian cricket. He is the second most successful pacer of India in Test cricket history as he bagged 311 wickets. Overall, he represented India in 92 Tests, 200 ODIs and 17 T20Is.

He also made a big impact in the Indian Premier League, playing 100 matches and picking up 102 wickets at an economy of 7.59. His last appearance in the Indian Premier League came in 2017 before he retired from all forms of cricket.

Zaheer Khan also served as the global head of development and the director of cricket of Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League.