Lucknow Super Giants Announce Zaheer Khan as the New Mentor

The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have officially announced Zaheer Khan as their new team mentor for the 2025 IPL season. Since 19th August, the two parties were in negotiation. However, Zaheer Khan’s appointment was confirmed earlier today.

As the new mentor, Zaheer Khan will be working closely with head coach Justin Langer, batting coach Lance Klusener, fielding coach Jonty Rhodes, and Adam Voges. This role is particularly significant for LSG, who went through the 2024 IPL season without a mentor after Gautam Gambhir left to take on a similar role with the Kolkata Knight Riders, who clinched the 2024 IPL title. Gambhir has since been appointed as the new head coach of Team India.  

Zaheer Khan's first major task as LSG's mentor will be finding a new bowling coach, following Morne Morkel's departure. The former South African pacer was recruited by Gautam Gambhir to join Team India as their bowling coach. While Zaheer's presence as a mentor already brings a wealth of bowling expertise, it's not yet clear if he’ll take on the role of bowling coach himself. Therefore, bringing in a new specialist will likely be at the top of his to-do list.  

Another key challenge for Zaheer Khan will be to smooth over any tension between the team’s ownership and players. During the 2024 IPL, cameras captured a disagreement between owner Sanjiv Goenka and captain KL Rahul, which painted a picture of a strained atmosphere within the franchise—not ideal for a team aiming for its first IPL title. Zaheer's calm and composed nature could be just what’s needed to ease those tensions and foster a more positive environment. 

Therefore, it’s no surprise that Sanjiv Goenka was thrilled with Zaheer's appointment as team mentor. At Khan’s unveiling press conference, Goenka shared, “Till some time ago, I didn't know that he was no longer with Mumbai Indians. I approached him immediately. It is as simple as that... He is strategically strong. He has got respect amongst the community without doubt. And his mind is clear." Sanjiv Goenka also admitted that one of the main reasons for hiring Zaheer Khan was to improve their performances, as he wasn’t happy with LSG’s performance during the 2024 IPL. He said, “We didn't have a great performance. So, I mean, I'm not making bones about the fact that we 'almost' made it. You are either there or you are not there. So, this is not good enough." 

Before joining LSG, Zaheer Khan enjoyed a successful four-year stint from 2018-2022 with the Mumbai Indians. He served as the Director of Cricket before becoming the Head of Global Development. During his playing career, Khan represented franchises like Delhi Daredevils, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians.