Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
Hours after the three-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) parted ways with their head coach Chandrakant Pandit and bowling coach Bharat Arun, the latter is all set to join the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). The development came on Wednesday, July 30 when the speculations of the former India coach joining the five-time IPL champions, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) had hit the roof.
But amidst these reports, sources close to the devlopments confirmed that Bharat Arun, who has previously coached the Indian team as well, has joined the Lucknow-based franchise for the 2026 season. It is to be noted that Bharat Arun was working with KKR since 2022, helping them in their 2024 title win campaign too.
Bharat Arun joins LSG after parting ways with KKR ahead of IPL 2026
The source also added, as quoted by TOI, “LSG have their coaching staff in place, apart from one in the bowling department. Arun fits the bill perfectly.” However, an official announcement from the Lucknow Super Giants is still awaited, if so be it, he is set to join the likes of former India pacer Zaheer Khan, who is LSG mentor. He will also be working closely with Australia’s Justin Langer (head coach), and South Africa’s Lance Klusener (assistant coach).
As per the reports citing Cricbuzz, Arun has joined LSG on a two-year deal and will be closely working with star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, who was named the captain of the side ahead of IPL 2025.
Speaking of KKR’s campaign in the last edition, the Ajinkya Rahane-led side finished at eighth place after winning five matches from their 14 league stage fixtures, securing 12 points to their name. However, two of their matches ended in no result, they lost as many as seven matches and will be hoping to overturn their result in the next edition.
