Gautam Gambhir will be among the main brains behind Lucknow Super Giants’ strategy at the upcoming IPL mega auction, having joined the newly-formed franchise as team mentor.
Former India batter Gautam Gambhir will be among the main brains behind Lucknow Super Giants’ strategy at the upcoming mega auction ahead of the Indian Premier League 2022 (IPL 2022) season, having joined the newly-formed franchise as team mentor. The Lucknow-based team has already snapped up KL Rahul as captain, as well as Marcus Stoinis and Ravi Bishnoi as its draft picks. With many big names available in the upcoming auction, Gambhir and Lucknow Super Giants will be keen put the best team together.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to create a legacy and create something which has never been created before. We don’t want to copy anyone; we need to have our own template, we need to have our own legacy as well. And what better than when you have no baggage,” said Gambhir in a discussion with journalist Boria Majumdar on his show ‘Backstage with Boria’.
“Sanjiv (Goenka) sir, when he had Pune (franchise), they missed winning the title by one run. So it’s going to be a great challenge if we can finish that unfinished business as well but then we can’t promise that it’s going to happen in one year. It’s a long-term prospect as well. It’s not going to be something like we are going to think only for this year,” he added.
Gambhir also cited Ravi Bishnoi as the kind of profile the franchise will be looking at in terms of players ahead of its debut season.
“Ravi Bishnoi, from that point of view, made a lot of sense as well. He is young, he is a wicket-taking option and he is got to be your sure-shot guy playing in the playing XI; he can bowl at different stages of the game. More importantly, he is an uncapped player as well. So from every sense, it made a lot of logic for us to actually get him on board so that we can develop him going forward,” elaborated the former Kolkata Knight Riders captain.
“If he keeps his head on his shoulder, he will get better from here on. Going forward, if you see most of the leg spinners, this is probably the youngest of the lot and probably the most talented of the lot as well. So from that point of view, we have a present and a long-term strategy as well. So hopefully it will be a good journey going forward.”