Lucknow Super Giants have strengthened their coaching staff ahead of the IPL 2026 mini-auction by appointing former England cricketer Carl Crowe as their new spin bowling coach. The franchise confirmed the appointment on Tuesday through an announcement on their official X handle.
Crowe, widely regarded as one of the leading T20 spin-bowling specialists in world cricket, joins LSG after a successful stint with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) during their IPL 2024 title run under Shreyas Iyer. The 50-year-old has worked extensively across major global leagues such as the Big Bash League, T20 Blast, and Global T20 Canada.
Though Crowe never played international cricket for England, he carved out a solid domestic career with 50 first-class matches, 40 List A games, and one T20 appearance, accumulating more than 880 runs. His arrival adds further expertise to LSG’s already high-profile coaching structure, which features Tom Moody (Cricket Director), Kane Williamson (Strategic Advisor), Justin Langer (Head Coach), Lance Klusener (Assistant Coach), and Bharat Arun (Bowling Coach).
LSG enter the December 16 mini-auction in Abu Dhabi with a nearly settled squad, retaining 17 players and completing major trades. Rishabh Pant, India’s Test vice-captain and the most expensive player in IPL history at ₹27 crore, will lead the team. The retained overseas core includes Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, and Matthew Breetzke.
The franchise also added Mohammed Shami from Sunrisers Hyderabad for ₹10 crore and Arjun Tendulkar from Mumbai Indians for ₹30 lakh, while trading Shardul Thakur to MI for ₹2 crore. Released players include David Miller, Ravi Bishnoi, Shamar Joseph, and Rajvardhan Hangargekar.
With ₹22.95 crore remaining, six vacant slots, and four overseas positions to fill, Lucknow will look to strengthen depth and balance ahead of a major push for the IPL 2026 title.
LSG Coaching Team for IPL 2026
Cricket Director: Tom Moody
Strategic Advisor: Kane Williamson
Head Coach: Justin Langer
Assistant Coach: Lance Klusener
Bowling Coach: Bharat Arun
Spin Bowling Coach: Carl Crowe
LSG Squad Ahead of the Auction
Retained:
Rishabh Pant (c), Abdul Samad, Ayush Badoni, Aiden Markram, Matthew Breetzke, Himmat Singh, Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Arshin Kulkarni, Mayank Yadav, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, M Siddharth, Digvesh Rathi, Prince Yadav, Akash Singh, Mohammed Shami (trade), Arjun Tendulkar (trade)
Released:
Aryan Juyal, David Miller, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Akash Deep, Will O’Rourke, Ravi Bishnoi, Shamar Joseph, Shardul Thakur (trade)
