Former cricketers Gary Kirsten and Ashish Nehra have been reportedly approached by the Sanjay Goenka-led RPGS group for coaching jobs for their Lucknow franchise in the Indian Premier League. The RPGS group had shelled out Rs 7,090 crore as the highest bid to own the Lucknow franchise which will play from next year’s IPL. As the two new franchises are set to make their debut in the cricket league next year, the owners are in the process of hiring coaching staff for their teams.
The RPGS group is reportedly in talks with Gary Kirsten and Ashish Nehra — both of whom were part of the 2011 World Cup winning side. While the former South African cricketer was the head coach of India, Nehra was part of the squad. According to Cricbuzz, the Lucknow franchise contacted Kirsten and Nehra for the job of head coach and consultant, respectively. In fact, there have been proper discussions that have taken place between the franchise, and Kirsten and Nehra.
However, no final decision has been taken, and according to the report, both the former cricketers can’t open up on the matter since they are bound by a confidentiality clause.
During his career, Kirsten also coached the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2018. He was earlier the batting coach of the IPL franchise, but later promoted to the position of head coach, replacing Daniel Vettori. The former Proteas batter was also the head coach of South Africa between 2011 and 2013. His stint as head coach of the Indian cricket team was concluded after the 2011 World Cup.
Nehra, on the other hand, had retired from international cricket in 2017 after playing his last match — a T20I — against New Zealand on November 1, 2017 at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi which is his homeground.
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