IPL 2025: ‘Do You Need A Bowling Coach When I’m Here’, Says Zaheer Khan As Morne Morkel Quits Lucknow Super Giants

New Delhi: Recently, Former Indian Pacer Zaheer Khan has been appointed as the mentor of Lucknow Super Giants ahead of IPL 2025. There are absolutely no prizes to guess who will call the shots at the Lucknow Super Giants from IPL 2025 as far as matters related to the team are concerned. A place has been left vacant after Gautam Gambhir moved to the Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of this year’s IPL, which made his intentions clear. He is there to make a change and he is there to get results.

Under the former team mentor Gautam Gambhir, the team made successive playoffs after making their debut in 2022. But when Gambhir departed and joined KKR, LSG struggled to replicate their success this season and finished seventh on the table.

Another important member of the LSG support staff, apart from Gambhir, left the team recently. Former South Africa speedster Morne Morkel took up the role of India’s bowling coach after being approached by Gambhir and is set to join the team in September.

Morkel was LSG’s bowling coach even in the last IPL. LSG are yet to announce his replacement. Ask Zaheer, and he says is there a need. “Do you need a bowling coach when I’m here? I will do everything that the team needs,” Zaheer said at the RPSG Group Headquarters in Kolkata.

Zaheer also thinks that building blocks are already in place, all he needs to do is change certain things slightly to make LSG a champion side.

“LSG are a relatively young franchise in IPL, but it has not been looked upon like that, the building blocks are pretty much in place,” Zaheer said.

“They have made a lot of progress. The consistency in reaching playoffs, which is so tough in this fiercely contested competition, is something that gives me a lot of confidence when I’m looking at coming and contributing to the franchise’s success. We have similar stances on many things when it comes to cricket, where LSG should go in future, what kind of cricketing values, the brand of cricket the team should look to play”, he added.

The recent meet-up marks the return of the 45-year-old left-arm pacer to the IPL  after two years, with a lot of experience and having been associated with five-time champions Mumbai Indians from 2018-22.