Gambhir was LSG mentor for two IPL seasons in 2022 and 2023.
Sanjiv Goenka, owner of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), has praised former team mentor Gautam Gambhir for doing everything single-handedly when the team was to be formed for IPL 2022. Gambhir was the mentor of the side in its first two seasons in the IPL.
LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka revealed that the former India opener built everything from scratch. The two new franchises that joined the IPL in 2022, LSG and Gujarat Titans (GT) were offered three draft picks to level things up a bit but unlike the other eight franchises who have been a part of the league since its inception, they didn't have a proper structure in place.
Goenka stated that Gambhir accomplished everything because there was no analyst or study and scouting team before the auctions.
"Gautam has played a significant role in building the side's foundation. If you consider our first auction successful, it is only because of Gautam. We got the franchise barely two weeks before the auctions. We did not have an analyst or a research team. It was all Gautam Gambhir's team. He did everything and put together a very balanced team. Everyone has specific roles and Gautam played his part exceptionally well," Goenka said in an interview with Sports Tak.
LSG easily made the playoffs during Gambir's two seasons with the club, but when he transferred to KKR ahead of IPL 2024, things went south for the Lucknow-based organization.
LSG finished sixth in the points standings, and the conflict between captain KL Rahul and owner Goenka became a major topic of debate. There were reports that LSG would not keep Rahul ahead of the major auctions for next year's IPL.
Meanwhile, LSG has appointed Zaheer Khan as the new mentor of the franchise ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.
"LSG is a relatively young franchise in IPL, but it has not been looked upon like that, the building blocks are pretty much in place. They have made a lot of progress. The consistency with 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,” Zaheer Khan stated.