Zaheer Khan likely to take a mentorship role with Lucknow Super Giants

Former Indian pace bowling spearhead Zaheer Khan is likely to be associated with Lucknow Super Giants as their mentor for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League, scheduled to be played next year.

Zaheer Khan donned many hats in the Indian franchise scene with the 45-year-old being the director of cricket for Mumbai Indians for five years before taking up the role of the head of global development for Mumbai Indians in the last few years.

The Lucknow Super Giants think-tank are keen on having someone who is extremely experienced in Indian cricket and someone who could fill in to Gautam Gambhir’s shoes. Gambhir was with Lucknow Super Giants before moving to Kolkata Knight Riders last season. Under Gambhir’s mentorship, Lucknow reached the playoffs in their inaugural season and also their next while Kolkata won the Indian Premier League title under Gambhir’s mentorship in 2024.

Zaheer is also experienced as a player in playing a lot of T20 cricket. He has played 100 IPL matches for Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils combined in 10 seasons and has picked up more than 100 wickets (102), at an economy of 7.59.

With Zaheer donning many hats in the IPL circuit, he is also tipped to help the Lucknow franchise in scouting and in player development programmes.

Apart from Gambhir absence, Lucknow Super Giants are also reeling with the absence of Morne Morkel, who has now joined Gambhir in the Indian cricket team’s set up as the bowling coach.

Meanwhile, Punjab Kings are also looking for a head coach as they are keen on replacing Trevor Bayliss for the upcoming season. According to reports, VVS Laxman is on their radar but if the former Indian batter extends his tenure with the National Cricket Academy, he cannot take up the role with Punjab Kings.

The Punjab franchise is reportedly looking to hire an Indian coach and get their core group and think-tank covered before the mega auctions later this year.