Zaheer Khan appointed as mentor for LSG in IPL 2025

Zaheer Khan has been appointed as the mentor for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), replacing Gautam Gambhir who left the role after IPL 2023. Gambhir's departure was due to his new position as mentor for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2024, eventually leading to his appointment as the head coach of the India men's team.

It is not yet known whether Zaheer will also perform the role of LSG's bowling coach, after Morne Morkel left the franchise to join Gambhir's coaching staff with the Indian team.

From 2018 to 2022, Zaheer was involved with the Mumbai Indians (MI) franchise, first as director of cricket and then head of global development. Prior to that, he was part of three IPL teams as a player - MI, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Daredevils. In all, he featured in 100 games for the three teams across ten seasons, picking up 102 wickets at an economy of 7.58. He last played in the tournament in 2017, when he led Daredevils, before retiring from all forms of cricket.

As reported earlier by ESPNcricinfo, apart from the role of mentor, LSG are also keen on giving Zaheer a wider profile that will mean involvement with the scouting and player-development programmes during the off season.

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LSG's coaching set-up is currently headed by Justin Langer, who will continue in the role after having replaced Andy Flower as head coach ahead of IPL 2024, with Lance Klusener and Adam Voges as his assistants. After securing playoff berths in their first two seasons, the KL Rahul-led side was pipped on net run rate for a spot in the top four in 2024.

Zaheer's possible return to the IPL fold comes at a time when teams are preparing for a mega auction. The IPL is likely to announce the retention rules by early September.