Lucknow Super Giants owner Sanjiv Goenka has spoken about why his team performed poorly in the IPL 2024.

LSG finished seventh in the 2024 IPL season with seven wins and seven losses. They failed to qualify for the playoffs due to their poor net run rate.

Four teams finished with 14 points in the group stage, but Royal Challengers Bengaluru were the only team to make it to the playoffs thanks to a superior net run rate. On the other hand, Super Giants finished in the lowest position among these four teams.

LSG had Gautam Gambhir as their mentor for the first two seasons in 2022 and 2023.

However, Gambhir joined Kolkata Knight Riders as a mentor for IPL 2024, leaving the LSG post vacant. Recently, LSG appointed Zaheer Khan as their new mentor, thus finally filling the post.

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Sanjiv Goenka breaks silence on LSG’s poor IPL 2024 campaign

Recently, Sanjiv Goenka revealed the reason behind his team’s disappointing IPL 2024 campaign. Goenka felt that the team lacked proper guidance and input from the mentor, which was the main reason behind their decline.

“We all learn from mistakes. I think it’s not just about strategic guidance and advice (from a mentor) but also about input. It’s about making players feel comfortable in their skin. Let them go out and express themselves, and do so freely and clearly. I think that’s where we felt we missed something last year,” Sanjiv Goenka told Cricbuzz.

“We lost that match against Hyderabad through a bad way, and then we lost against Delhi in a match which we could have won. In the match against Gujarat, we should have won by a better margin. We got to the 20th over. Those are the situations for which we cannot blame anyone but ourselves. But we are here to improve. And we recognise that in sports you don’t win every year. You can’t win every year and you can’t win every match. But as long as that attitude of winning is there and that attitude of improving from losses and mistakes is there, I am satisfied,” Goenka added.

LSG could not count on Gautam Gambhir in IPL 2024

LSG made it to the IPL playoffs in their first two seasons in 2022 and 2023, when Gautam Gambhir was their mentor. In 2024, they looked good at one point but lost their way amid a long tournament.

They missed the guidance of a good mentor who could have helped them stay calm in such situations.

On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders won the IPL 2024 title with Gautam Gambhir as their mentor. After winning the IPL, Gambhir joined Team India as the head coach.

LSG appoints Zaheer Khan as mentor

The position of mentor at LSG is no longer vacant as Lucknow Super Giants have appointed Zaheer Khan as their new mentor. Zaheer has previous experience working in the coaching staff of Mumbai Indians.

After ending his playing career in 2017, Zaheer served as the Director of Cricket Operations at Mumbai Indians.

In 2022, he was promoted to the role of Global Head of Cricket Development at Mumbai Indians. During this time, he was actively involved in the franchise’s talent scouting process.

Zaheer brings a wealth of experience as a player and as part of the coaching team. He has played for three IPL teams during his playing days – Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils.

Zaheer played 100 IPL matches in which he took 102 wickets at an average of 27.27 and an economy rate of 7.59. He also captained Delhi Daredevils.