Lucknow confirms appointment of Andy Flower as head coach for Indian T20 League 2022

Lucknow based franchise - one of the two new teams of the Indian T20 League, has confirmed the appointment of Andy Flower as their head coach. News of Flower taking over the role was doing rounds in the media for the past few days. The announcement was made after getting the required permission from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), who had restricted the franchises to make any official announcements.

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Flower's appointment boosts the rumours of KL Rahul taking charge of the team as captain. Speculations of Rahul captaining the Lucknow team in the next edition of the Indian T20 League are on rife ever since Punjab did not retain him in the auction, and Flower's appointment almost confirms the rumours. Flower and Rahul have worked with each other for Punjab in the last two seasons of the Indian T20 League. It was also reported that KL Rahul suggested the name of Flower for the head coach.

"As a player and a coach Andy has left an indelible mark in the history of cricket. We respect his professionalism and hope he will work with our vision and add value to our team," Cricbuzz Quoted owner of Lucknow franchise, Sanjiv Goenka

"I am incredibly excited to be joining the new Lucknow franchise and I am very grateful for the opportunity," Flower said. "Since my very first tour to India in 1993, I have always loved touring, playing and coaching in India. The passion for cricket in India is unrivalled and it is a real privilege to lead an IPL franchise and I am looking forward to working closely with Dr Goenka and the Lucknow team. I will relish the challenge to build something meaningful and successful with the Lucknow franchise, I am looking forward to meeting the management and staff when I visit Uttar Pradesh in the New Year."

Lucknow and Ahmedabad - the two new franchises were given a deadline of 25 December to name the three players they want to pick before the mega auction. However, the deadline is likely to be extended because BCCI has still not given a clearance to the CVC Sports owned Ahmedabad team.