After Rishabh Pant trade, LSG rope in ex-Kerala star as new batting coach for IPL 2027
by Koushik Narayanan · Inside Sport IndiaIn a bid to revamp the setup after a couple of poor seasons, LSG have decided to rope in ex-Kerala cricketer Jayakumar as the new batting coach.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are eyeing a revamp ahead of IPL 2027 and it started with the trade of Rishabh Pant following a miserable season in the recently concluded edition of the tournament. After trading the southpaw to Delhi Capitals for a sum of Rs 15 crore, LSG have decided to rope in former Kerala cricketer Jayakumar as the new batting coach, in a bid to improve the side’s batting which hasn’t lived up to the expectations over the past few seasons. Since making their IPL debut, LSG have managed to make it to the playoffs in just 2 out of 5 seasons.
New batting coach for LSG
As per Cricbuzz, LSG have decided to rope in G Jayakumar as the batting coach in a bid to develop power hitters from within the existing squad and increase the team’s batting depth. The ex-Kerala cricketer has been credited for helping Team India star Sai Sudharsan in the past as a coach in Chennai, although he was a bowler himself. The Super Giants, who are reportedly on the hunt for a power-hitter, will expect Jayakumar to help the likes of Ayush Badoni, Mukul Choudhary, Abdul Samad, Himmat Singh, and Akshat Raghuvanshi to enhance their power-hitting skills.
Additionally, the report states that the aforementioned group will travel to Perth next week to train under LSG head coach Justin Langer. Following that, these domestic talents will then return to India and work with Jayakumar in Chennai. The report also claims that should Jayakumar’s appointment be made official, then Lance Klusener could possibly be booted out of the setup.
LSG support staff
- Tom Moody: Director of Cricket
- Justin Langer: Head Coach
- Bharat Arun: Bowling Coach
- Kane Williamson: Strategic Advisor
- Zaheer Khan: Mentor
- Jonty Rhodes: Fielding Coach
- Carl Crowe: Spin Bowling Coach
The Rishabh Pant-Kuldeep Yadav trade
Under KL Rahul’s captaincy, LSG managed to make it to two consecutive IPL playoffs in the 2022 and 2023 seasons – their first two editions after entering the tournament. However, things started going south for the franchise from 2024. They finished at the 7th position in that edition of the tournament, following which Rahul was released by the team.
LSG bought Rishabh Pant for a whooping Rs 27 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction and pinned their hopes on the southpaw to turn around the fortunes of the team. However, that wasn’t the case. LSG finished 7th in 2025 and at the rock-bottom of the points table in 2026. Pant scored just 269 and 312 runs in 2025 and 2026 respectively, and not only failed to fulfill the expectations as a batter, but also as a captain.
Earlier in June, Pant quit as LSG captain following the miserable season. That was followed by LSG confirming their first official trade of IPL 2027, with Pant returning to DC for Rs 15 crore while the Super Giants have accquired the services of Kuldeep Yadav for Rs 13.50 crore in return.