Lucknow Super Giants Mentor Gautam Gambhir To NDTV: "KL Rahul's Biggest Burden Will Be Pressure To Perform And Not Price Tag"

The Lucknow Super Giants team is getting ready for its maiden Indian Premier League season and the preparations began earlier this year when the franchise named former India opener and two-time IPL winning captain Gautam Gambhir as its mentor. Former Zimbabwe captain and England coach Andy Flower has been roped in head coach and there are a host of other seasoned members who are part of the support staff. Franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka and Gambhir spoke exclusively with NDTV on Monday, where they spoke about their plans for the upcoming mega IPL auction and the rationale behind picking KL Rahul as the captain of the team.

KL Rahul is being paid a whopping 17 crore by the franchise and there is bound to be some pressure on the opening batter. But Gambhir said that as mentor it is his job and that of the support staff to help Rahul focus on his performances and not on the price tag he comes with.

"It is for the support staff to make him feel free. The biggest burden will not be the price tag but the pressure to perform," Gambhir said.

Talking about the strategy for the upcoming auction, Gambhir said that the franchise is looking for players who will prioritise playing for the franchise during the IPL over everything else.

"We want players who are honest, want to play for the franchise and who do not think of playing for India in those two months. Playing for India is a by-product. We want performances for Lucknow," the former Kolkata Knight Riders captain said.

Team owner Sanjiv Goenka said that picking Rahul as captain was a no brainer due to his record. He also threw light on the decision regarding picking young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi as one of the draft picks.

"Appointing KL as captain was no brainer. We approached him