"Gautam Gambhir will help create a blueprint and a dressing room geared towards a culture of performance"- Lucknow franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka

Two-time IPL-winning skipper Gautam Gambhir's appointment as a mentor for the new Lucknow franchise is to help create an "inclusive team environment" and a "blueprint" for the franchise in the long term, owner Sanjiv Goenka has said.

Goenka told the Times of India that the presence of Gambhir, who has a proven track record, will help inculcate a "culture of performance" in the dressing room.

"Gautam will primarily have a motivational role to play. He will also help to create a blueprint for the franchise in the long term. We wanted to have people with a proven track record of success. Gautam has also successfully groomed a generation of youngsters for KKR and that went in his favour,” Goenka said.

He added:

"Gautam has an image of being a totally non-partisan leader with a focus on results. Look at what he did for KKR. Fundamentally we would like the dressing room to be geared towards a culture of performance.”

Gambhir will join hands with former Zimbabwe skipper Andy Flower, who was recently appointed head coach by the franchise.

Gambhir led the Kolkata Knight Riders to the title in 2012 and 2014.

"The fire to win still burns bright inside me" - Gautam Gambhir

Following his appointment, Gambhir tweeted:

"It’s a privilege to be in the contest again. Thanks Dr. Goenka for incl me in #LucknowIPLTeam as its mentor. The fire to win still burns bright inside me, the desire to leave a winner’s legacy still kicks me. I won’t be contesting for a dressing room but for the spirit & soul of UP."

The Goenka-led RPSG group previously owned the Rising Pune Supergiant/s, which featured as a two-season replacement in 2016 and 2017.

"That was just a short two-year thing. We were impatient and left many things unfinished. This (Lucknow) is oriented towards the long term as not many franchises have come in and succeeded in the first year itself,” Goenka said.