New IPL Lucknow franchise appoints Gambhir as team mentor

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir was on Saturday appointed mentor of the new Lucknow franchise ahead of IPL 2022.

The annoucement comes a day after the owners appointed former Zimbabwe captain Andy Flower was on Friday appointed as the head coach of the yet-to-be-named Lucknow franchise.

Gambhir, who is also a member of parliament, had captained KKR to two IPL titles during his playing days.

“[Gambhir] has a penchant for grooming young talent which Lucknow feels will suit them well ahead of what is expected to be a tough initiation into an increasingly competitive IPL scenario,” a BCCI source told The Times of India.

He is expected to have an advisory role in the team that is targetting K.L. Rahul to be its first captain. Rahul had opted out of retention by Punjab Kings and it is being rumoured that the new Lucknow team, owned by the RPSG group, will rope him in.

"The fire to win a contest still burns bright inside me, the desire to leave a winner's legacy still kicks me 24x7. I will not be contesting for a dressing room but for the spirit and soul of Uttar Pradesh," Gambhir said in a statement.

Owner of the franchise, Sanjiv Goenka welcomed Gambhir into the RPSG family. "Gautam has an impeccable career record. I respect his cricketing mind and look forward to working with him," he said.

The 40-year-old played 58 Tests, 147 ODIs and 37 T20Is for India.

Flower, on the other had has worked with Punjab Kings as assistant coach for the past two seasons.

"I am incredibly excited to be joining the new Lucknow franchise and I am very grateful for the opportunity. Since my very first tour to India in 1993, I have always loved touring, playing and coaching in India," said Flower in a statement. 

- With inputs from PTI