Lucknow are one of the newest entrants in the Indian Premier League are making its debut in the 2022 edition. Founded in 2021, the team will play its home matches at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. The team is owned by RPSG Group who previously owned one of the franchises from Pune between 2016 and 2017.
The team will be captained by KL Rahul and coached by Andy Flower. The Governing Council of the Indian Premier League issued a tender for two new sides in August 2021. A total of 22 companies declared an interest but with a high base price for the new teams, there were no more than six serious bidders. The Board of Cricket Control in India allowed a consortium of three companies or individuals to bid for each franchise. The Sanjiv Goenka-owned RPSG Group won the rights to operate the Lucknow franchise with a bid of over Rs 7,090 crore.
The team launched a competition to decide its name, from which the name Lucknow was chosen in January 2022. Ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction, the franchise drafted KL Rahul as their
captain, making him the joint highest-paid player in the League. The franchise also purchased some seasoned stars like Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stoinis, Jason Holder, Manish Pandey and Deepak
Hooda. They also signed some new rising stars of Indian cricket in Ravi Bishnoi and Avesh Khan.
Lucknow had Andy Flower, the former Zimbabwean captain and experienced international coach as their head coach and another noteworthy appointment was of the former Indian cricketer and the two-time winning captain of the Indian Premier League trophy, Gautam Gambhir, as the team's mentor for their preliminary season.
Despite finishing third in the group stage in both the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Lucknow fell short in the playoffs, facing elimination in the Eliminator matches against Bengaluru and Mumbai, respectively. However, their consistent performances and fighting spirit have earned them respect and admiration within the league. Also, at the beginning of the 2024 season, mentor Gautam Gambhir left the side to rejoin Kolkata, whom he had captained to a couple of Indian Premier League titles.
As the franchise gears up for the Indian Premier League 2024 season, they have reinforced their coaching staff by adding the esteemed South African legend Lance Klusener as an assistant coach. With Klusener's expertise complementing Langer's leadership, Lucknow aims to overcome the final hurdles and emerge victorious in the upcoming season.
