Lucknow Super Giants Appoint Zaheer Khan as New Mentor
On Wednesday, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner Sanjiv Goenka announced the appointment of former Indian fast-bowling legend Zaheer Khan as the team’s new mentor. The Super Giants narrowly missed out on a playoff spot in the previous Indian Premier League (IPL) season, with their campaign ending amid reports of a fallout between Goenka and captain KL Rahul. An on-field conversation between the two, where Goenka appeared visibly frustrated after a loss, fueled rumors of internal discord.
Speculation has been rife in recent weeks about potential retentions and the upcoming mega auction, with one particularly sensational report claiming that LSG had set aside a budget of INR 50 crore to acquire India’s T20 World Cup-winning captain Rohit Sharma. However, when asked about the rumor during an interview with SportsTak, Goenka couldn’t help but pass a chuckle at the suggestion. While he admitted that any team would benefit from having a captain and player of Rohit’s caliber, Goenka clarified that reserving such an enormous sum for a single player was unrealistic, especially when the franchise is focused on building a competitive team from the ground up.
“Any team would benefit from having a captain and player of Rohit’s caliber, but reserving such an enormous sum for a single player was unrealistic, especially when the franchise is focused on building a competitive team from the ground up.”
Goenka also spoke about his equation with Rahul, calling him “an integral part of the franchise” amid speculations about the player’s future in the team. However, the LSG owner remained evasive on player retention and captaincy for the next IPL season.
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