Zaheer Khan named LSG's talent development programme head ahead of IPL 2025
Published - 28 Aug 2024, 02:29 PM | Updated - 29 Aug 2024, 11:10 AM
Former Indian cricketer and World Cup winner Zaheer Khan is set to join the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. Zaheer Khan's formal announcement is scheduled to take place at the RPSG Group Headquarters in Kolkata on Wednesday, August 28.
Zaheer Khan will return to the Indian Premier League after a two-year break. The former left-arm pacer previously worked with the five-time IPL champions, Mumbai Indians (MI), from 2018 to 2022. Zaheer first served as the director of cricket before taking on the role of head of global development.
The Lucknow Super Giants are currently without a bowling coach after Morne Morkel's departure to join Gautam Gambhir's coaching staff. Gambhir previously served as LSG's mentor but joined the Kolkata Knight Riders as mentor for IPL 2024. He is the head coach of the Indian men's cricket team.
Zaheer Khan To Head LSG's Talent Development Programme - Report
Zaheer Khan's addition will strengthen the star-studded coaching staff of the Super Giants, which includes Justin Langer as head coach, Lance Klusener as assistant coach, and Adam Voges as a consultant. Khan is expected to play a key role in scouting and player development during the off-season.
"Some @IPL update: Zaheer Khan has signed up with @LucknowIPL to head their talent development programme," Times of India journalist Arani Basu wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Some @IPL update: Zaheer Khan has signed up with @LucknowIPL to head their talent development programme
— Arani Basu (@AraniBasuTOI) August 28, 2024
Zaheer will focus on scouting and player development with the Lucknow Super Giants during the off-season. This comes as teams prepare for the upcoming mega auction, which is expected to be held later this year. He brings experience from his previous work with the Mumbai Indians' scouting team.
He played for three IPL teams, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals). Khan took 102 wickets in 100 IPL matches at an economy rate of 7.58. His final IPL appearance was in 2017, where he led the Delhi Daredevils before retiring from all forms of cricket.
KL Rahul To Step Down From LSG Captaincy - Report
KL Rahul is expected to step down as captain of the Lucknow Super Giants for the IPL 2025 season but will remain with the team as a player. The decision came after a meeting with CEO Sanjiv Goenka. LSG is considering Krunal Pandya and Nicholas Pooran as potential candidates for the captaincy.
“The meeting was official with the CEO Sanjiv Goenka on Monday, the captaincy and retention topics were discussed. However, Rahul is unlikely to captain the side in the upcoming edition as he wants to explore himself more as a batter. Goenka has full confidence in Rahul and he will be retained as a player, but will not be seen captaining the side,” sources close to the Lucknow-based franchise told IANS.
“We are still exploring the captaincy option but with BCCI agreeing on player retention conditions we have two players (Krunal Pandya and Nicholas Poran) in the race,” he added.
