Lucknow: Former India opener and two-time IPL champion Gautam Gambhir has joined the Lucknow franchise as a mentor. Gambhir's appointment is the second major announcement this week, following Andy Flower's appointment as head coach by the Sanjiv Goenka-owned RPSG Group on Friday.

The Kolkata-based group, which previously ran the Rising Pune Supergiant team in the 2016 and 2017 IPLs, purchased the rights to the Lucknow franchise in October for a whopping Rs 7,090 crore. Goenka welcomed Gambhir to the Lucknow team, which has yet to be named.

Gambhir, 40, represented India in 58 Tests, 147 ODIs, and 37 Twenty20 Internationals, and was a member of the teams that won the 2007 Men's T20 World Cup and the 2011 Men's Cricket World Cup. Gambhir played in the IPL from its inception in 2008 until 2018, representing the Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) and Kolkata Knight Riders in 154 games and scoring 4217 runs at an average of 31.01, including 36 half-centuries.

After retiring from cricket, Gambhir has been a Member of Parliament for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from the East Delhi constituency since 2019, in addition to being a commentator and expert.

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