Vijay Dahiya, a former wicketkeeper-batsman, was on Wednesday appointed assistant coach of the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) new Lucknow-based franchise. The 48-year-old Haryana native is currently the Uttar Pradesh team’s coach. He formerly served as an assistant coach with the Kolkata Knight Riders, who won the IPL twice. He has also served as a talent scout for the Delhi Capitals and coached the Delhi Ranji team, adding to his credentials for the same position.

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“I am delighted and grateful for the opportunity given to me to work with the Lucknow IPL franchise,” Dahiya, who has played two Tests and 19 ODIs for India, said in a statement.

The RPSG Group’s Lucknow team had previously appointed Andy Flower as head coach and Gautam Gambhir as mentor ahead of next year’s IPL. Sanjeev Goenka, the owner of the Lucknow group, highlighted the necessity of bringing in Gambhir, and the former cricketer voiced his delight.

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“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 favor. He 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,” said Goenka earlier in a statement.

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“The fire to win a contest still burns bright inside me. The desire to leave a winner’s legacy still kicks me 24×7. I will not be contesting for a dressing room but for the spirit and soul of Uttar Pradesh,” said Gautam Gambhir, in a statement, after his new appointment.