The Lucknow-based IPL franchise on Friday (December 17) roped in former Zimbabwe skipper Andy Flower as head coach for the 2022 edition of the league.

Notably, Flower was associated with Punjab Kings (PBKS) as assistant coach for the last two seasons and he parted ways with the franchise earlier this month.

KL Rahul, who was playing for Punjab since 2018 and led the team in the past two editions, is also likely to move to the Sanjiv Goenka-owned franchise.

"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."

Goenka added: "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."

Andy Flower’s CV as a coach is a highly accomplished one. He had coached England to the T20 World Cup title in 2010 and also guided them to No. 1 spot in Test rankings.

The IPL 2022 will feature 10 teams, with the addition of two new franchises based in Lucknow and Ahmedabad.

During the IPL team auction in October, the RP-Sanjiv Goenka group and international equity investment firm CVC Capital had won the bid for INR 7,090 crore and INR 5,625 crores respectively.

(With PTI inputs)