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Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are poised to have a huge rebuild to their batting lineup ahead of the 2027 Indian Premier League (IPL). The process has begun with the surprise trade of Rishabh Pant to the Delhi Capitals for Kuldeep Yadav, and they are now close to appointing a new batting coach, G Jayakumar.
According to reports from Cricbuzz, the franchise that finished at the foot of the standings is also looking to secure a power-hitting batter in the mini auction ahead of the new season. However,
before the search commences, LSG will also develop the skills within the players in their ranks by roping in Jayakumar as the batting coach.
Despite being a medium pacer during his playing career, Jayakumar has tremendous goodwill as a batting coach in Chennai. The former Kerala player is widely credited for the development of Sai Sudharsan, who has scored more than 700 runs in the IPL in each of his last two campaigns.
The deal is reportedly close to being finalised, with Jayakumar set to join LSG's backroom staff, which consists of Tom Moody (director of cricket), Justin Langer (head coach) and Bharat Arun (bowling coach). With the 59-year-old set to join the Uttar Pradesh-based franchise, former South African player Lance Klusener will leave the coaching duties ahead of the new season.
LSG have already commenced their preparations for the next season of the IPL. According to the aforementioned source, the franchise is set to send its domestic batters to Perth to train under Langer before coming back to India and spending time with Jayakumar. These include the likes of Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Himmat Singh, Mukul Choudhary, Akshat Raghuwanshi and Arshin Kulkarni.
It is worth mentioning that following Pant's move to DC, LSG will enter the 2027 auction with a hefty purse under their belt, consisting of more than INR 23 crore. This will give them enough funds to sign a couple of batters and possibly an Indian wicketkeeper to replace their former skipper.
