The Lucknow-based franchise set to kick-off its journey from the next year’s edition of the Indian Premier League has made its first major signing. The franchise has appointed Zimbabwe batting great Andy Flower as their head coach for the IPL 2022, to be held in April-May in an expanded 10-team format with a team based in Ahmedabad also joining the league.
Flower’s high-profile appointment is the first big name roped in by the Lucknow franchise in their camp for the 2022 campaign after buying the team for a whopping INR 7,090 crores from the BCCI earlier this year.
Flower has been brought on board for a “longer” stint with the side than the norm, hinted Sanjiv Goenka, the RPSG owner whose company has bought the Lucknow franchise, while speaking to ESPNcricinfo. Goenka said the appointment of the former Zimbabwe skipper has been made recognising his “professionalism”, adding that Flower has “left an indelible mark” on the game with his on and off-field exploits.
The 53-year-old is regarded as one of the world’s best contemporary coaches. He has been involved with various teams in the leagues worldwide, including Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League and St Lucia Kings in the Caribbean Premier League. Till the end of IPL 2021, Flower was also part of the support staff for the Punjab Kings before he resigned recently.
Flower’s resignation with Punjab Kings was being seen as a telling sign that one of the two new teams could get him on board as they build the side. And now, there is confirmation that he will be overseeing Lucknow’s first-ever IPL campaign next year.
The experienced cricketing head said he would “relish the challenge to build something meaningful and successful” with the team Lucknow, which hasn’t yet made any official announcement on its name and the player signings ahead of the mega auction for IPL 2022.
Times of India reported that Flower was one of the six candidates that the Lucknow franchise was in talks with for the head coach’s role before he won the race.
Flower is inarguably one of the best wicketkeeper-batters the game has ever seen. Playing for a talented but inexperienced Zimbabwean side in the 90s and early 2000s, he piled on a fantastic record with the bat. The elegant left-hander averaged 51.54 in his 63 Tests and scored 6,786 ODI runs at a strike-rate of 74.59.
After a successful career batting for his country, Flower moved on to the coaching world and had a fruitful 12-year coaching career with the England and Wales Cricket Board, playing various roles in multiple age groups. His most prominent being the work done with the national men’s side from 2009 to 2014 when England won Test series in Australia and India, apart from achieving the No.1 rank in Tests and winning the 2010 T20 World Cup in the Caribbean.
Since entering the franchise T20 league arena, Flower has taken Multan Sultans to a PSL title in 2021 and led St Lucia Kings to back-to-back finals of the CPL in 2020 and 2021. It is only the perennially struggling Punjab IPL franchise that couldn’t go all the way even with the Flower magic before the man moved on.
Flower is known for his technical and tactical know-how but also his ability to manage the individuals around him. The Lucknow franchise will hope he is at his best for them as they strive to make a positive step forward in their journey.
