Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have appointed former India cricketer Zaheer Khan as their mentor for the next season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Gautam Gambhir was the previous mentor of LSG until IPL 2023 before he joined Kolkata Knight Riders in the same capacity and then joined team India as the head coach last month. LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka held the press conference in Kolkata to make the special announcement today.
Zaheer Khan was also present at the conference and is already looking forward to the next IPL season. Moreover, the former India cricketer might also play a crucial part at the mega auction that will happen before the next season. "I will make sure that the process that is required to LSG the next level is there. The next season is going to be a special one," Zaheer said after the announcement.
Impact player rule was scrutinised a lot during the last season with Rohit Sharma openly expressing his views against it. However, Zaheer is of the view that the said rule has to stay as it gives a lot more opportunities to uncapped players that help in recognising the talent in the country. "I support the Impact Player rule, because it is giving uncapped players a lot of opportunities," Zaheer added.
As for Zaheer, he was with five-time champions Mumbai Indians from 2018 to 2022 first as director of cricket and then head of global development. He featured in the IPL for three teams - Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals (Delhi Daredevils) - featuring in a total of 100 matches picking up 102 wickets at an economy of 7.58.
