Former Zimbabwe captain Andy Flower has been appointed as the head coach of the newly formed Lucknow franchise that will make its first appearance in the 2022 IPL. The other new franchise in the mix is from Ahmedabad.
Flower had been previously working with Anil Kumble in the Punjab Kings franchise for two years.
"I am incredibly excited to be joining the new Lucknow franchise and I am very grateful for the opportunity. Since my very first tour to India in 1993, I have always loved touring, playing and coaching in India," said Flower in a statement.
"The passion for cricket in India is unrivalled and it is a real privilege to lead an IPL franchise and I am looking forward to working closely with Dr Goenka and the Lucknow team.
"I will relish the challenge to build something meaningful and successful with the Lucknow franchise, I am looking forward to meeting the management and staff when I visit Uttar Pradesh in the new year."
Along with Andy Flower, it has been reported that Punjab’s skipper in the last two seasons, KL Rahul is also expected to move to the Lucknow franchise.
"As a player and a Coach Andy has left an indelible mark in the history of cricket . We respect his professionalism and hope he will work with our vision and add value to our team," Sanjeev Goenka said.
The former Zimbabwe cricketer had coached England to the T20 World Cup title in 2010 and the top rank in Tests as well and is also is at the helm of Punjab Kings owned franchise in the Caribbean Premier League — Saint Lucia Kings.
The Goenka-led RP-SG Group had bid Rs 7090 crore to own the Lucknow franchise. Goenka had previously also been part of the IPL with the Rising Pune Supergiant franchise which had been part of the IPL for two years (2016-2017) when Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals had been banned for their roles in the spot fixing saga.
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