Zaheer Khan has taken over Gautam Gambhir’s position as the mentor of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). But the Indian great isn’t just replacing Gambhir. As a former fast bowler, he’ll also get the added responsibility of imparting knowledge to pacers. Morne Morkel held the role previously and was LSG’s bowling coach from IPL 2022 to 2024. He’s moved on from the position since and became the Indian assistant/bowling coach.
The South African quick did wonders for Lucknow, especially in the fast bowling department. It was under him that Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav, and Yash Thakur shined. LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka announced Zaheer Khan as the new mentor earlier today in a press conference, and the pacer was asked how he feels about Morkel joining the Indian cricket team.
“Morne is someone with whom I have spent time with in one of the franchises. He’s a great lad and very good to work with. With good players in the (Indian) group, I’m sure the bowlers will benefit with his presence,” Zaheer said on Morne joining Team India.
Ready impart knowledge to Mayank Yadav
As mentioned above, LSG have a good fast-bowling crop at the moment. It’s uncertain what the number of retentions will be and how many Indian pacers they’ll be able to retain. However, this doesn’t concern Zaheer Khan, and he’s ready to share his knowledge with the up-and-coming players.
“That’s the beauty of the IPL, isn’t it? Every year you find talent. Every year, you see someone shining bright, who is a completely unknown quantity. I’m looking forward to it. I think that’s one of the reasons that I want to be part of that dugout. I want to be part of that setup. I want to interact with players and share my knowledge, which hopefully will help them go the distance in some way,” he added.
