Zaheer Khan will be key for LSG in team meetings and decisions: Jonty Rhodes

New Delhi, Aug 31 : Former South Africa cricketer and Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) fielding coach Jonty Rhodes feels that former India cricketer Zaheer Khan--the new mentor of the franchise with his calm persona will be a huge benefit in team meetings and helping players uplift their performance.

Zaheer Khan on Wednesday was appointed as mentor of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), in a formal event held at the RPSG Group Headquarters in Kolkata.

"Zaheer Khan will definitely bring the calmness in the team. Having someone like Zak (Zaheer Khan) around will be of great help for the franchise. The team meetings, selections meetings, franchise meetings with owners you need calm head because the tournament goes up and down as per results, you need that support and consistency. Fortunately, we had that support earlier too, on and off the field but we need to continue that."

"Team is no longer a brand new franchise it has been around for three years now, so obviously the pressure is there to perform. We need to acheive what we plan, to reach playoffs, we haven't reached final yet, so with Zak and his calmness I think it will be very important for the franchise also with the technique and bowling experience that he carries will benefit franchise," Rhodes told IANS.

Zaheer will be filling in the mentor role left vacant at LSG after Gautam Gambhir's exit post IPL 2023. The 45-year-old Zaheer joined LSG's coaching set-up featuring Justin Langer as head coach, along with Lance Klusener and Adam Voges assistant coaches. The side doesn’t have a bowling coach yet after Morne Morkel left the role to take up same position with the Indian team.

LSG finished seventh on the points table with seven wins and as many losses in the IPL 2024.