BY SPORTS REPORTER
ZIMBABWE cricket legend Andy Flower has emerged as the leading contender for the head coach role at the newly formed Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Lucknow ahead of the 2022 season after leaving the assistant coaching role at Punjab Kings.
The 53-year-old, regarded as the greatest ever Zimbabwe player, is one of the two favourites for the coveted coaching role together with former New Zealand star Daniel Vettori.
However, according to several reports from India, Flower is the outright favourite due to his good relationship with former Punjab Kings captain KL Rahul, who is likely to lead the Lucknow franchise.
They apparently recommended each other’s names for respective roles, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI).
Flower worked alongside head coach Anil Kumble for the past two seasons.
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The former Zimbabwe captain, who worked as a coach in England for more than a decade and guided the national team there, was hired for his maiden IPL stint ahead of the 2020 season.
After representing Zimbabwe in 213 ODIs and 63 Test matches, Flower was associated with the England and Wales Cricket Board for over 12 years in various coaching capacities.
During his stint with the England team, Flower led the side to the T20 World Cup title in 2010 and number one spot in the Test rankings.
After that, Flower has been traversing the T20 circuit around the world, coaching several teams. He is the coach of Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League and the St Lucia Zouks in the Caribbean Premier League. He was a consultant to Afghanistan in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
He was recently batting consultant of the Afghanistan cricket team at the T20 World Cup.