COACHING COUP
During his four-year tenure, KKR won the title in 2024 © BCCI
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have roped in Bharat Arun as their bowling coach for the upcoming seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The former India pacer, widely credited for guiding and inspiring India’s bowling unit during his tenure as bowling coach, joins LSG after a successful stint with Kolkata Knight Riders, which included a triumphant season in 2024. He was at KKR for four years, starting from the 2022 season.
None of the parties involved, KKR, LSG and Arun himself, chose to comment on the development but Cricbuzz can confirm that Arun (62) has inked a two-year deal with the Sanjiv Goenka-owned side for a role which will require him to work with the LSG players throughout the year.
The induction of Arun into the coaching staff means LSG are unlikely to continue with Zaheer Khan, the mentor of the Rishabh Pant-captained side last season. As previously reported by this website, Zaheer had a one-year contract with the franchise and the management is seriously reviewing the deal. Chances of a renewal are bleak, as also of head coach Justin Langer, who was part of the team for a couple of seasons.
The Arun development, which has been in the pipeline for some time, comes a day after the Knight Riders parted ways with head coach Chandrakant Pandit. There are now two vacancies in the team but it is understood that KKR will recruit the new coaching staff after a robust selection process.
The franchise takes pride in the fact that most of its coaching staff – be it Gautam Gambhir, Ryan ten Doeschate, Abhishek Nayar (for a brief period), Brandon McCullum, Trevor Bayliss and physio Kamlesh Jain among others – went on to join higher positions in the national sides – India and England teams in particular.
Bharat Arun and KKR, clearly, have parted ways amicably. With Dwayne Bravo, the team’s mentor, also overseeing the bowling strategies, there was a mutual consent that too many inputs may not be in the best interest of the side. Besides, KKR have maintained an ‘institutional policy’ of not standing in the way of their staff’s professional growth. It is understood that this principle was conveyed to Arun when he approached the franchise seeking a release.
© Cricbuzz
