RPSG group, owner of Lucknow Super Giants, sign Lance Klusener as head coach of Durban team in CSA T20 league

Former South Africa all-rounder Lance Klusener, who was the coach of Afghanistan national team as well, will be the new head coach of Durban franchise which was bought by owners of Lucknow Super Giants.

The RPSG Group have roped in former South Africa all-rounder and Afghanistan coach Lance Klusener as the head coach for their Durban Franchise for the first CSA T20 League. Lance Klusener is an international cricket coach and former cricketer of South Africa.

Klusener was known for his impressive batting and his fast-medium swing bowling. Klusener is remembered for his contributions in One-Day Internationals.

“I am honoured to join the RPSG family . This is a new challenge for me. It makes me very proud. I am looking forward to meet the team,” Klusener said in a statement.

RPSG Group also owns Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) cricket team based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh in the Indian Premier League. The 50-year-old Klusener turned out in 49 Tests and 171 ODIs for South Africa in his career.

He scored 1,906 Test runs with 4 hundreds and 3,576 ODI runs with 2 hundreds and also picked up 80 and 192 wickets in Tests and ODIs respectively.

Klusener rejoined as the Zimbabwe cricket team’s batting coach under head coach Lalchand Rajput in March this year. The South African was also the head coach of Khulna Tigers in the Bangladesh Premier League.

The six franchise owners for South Africa’s T20 League were confirmed last week following a rigorous process over the past few months. The open bid process, managed by Deloitte Corporate Finance, attracted over 29 entities who expressed interest in owning a franchise worldwide. Over 10 venues were made available for interested bidders to own a franchise and all 10 of them received expressions of interest.

The six successful bidders who will be part of this significant chapter of South African cricket are:

Newlands, Cape Town – Reliance Industries Limited, owners of Mumbai Indians

Kingsmead, Durban – RPSG Sports Private Limited, owners of Lucknow Super Giants

St George’s Park, Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) --  Sun TV Network Limited, owners of Sunrisers Hyderabad

Wanderers, Johannesburg – Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited, owners of Chennai Super Kings

Boland Park, Paarl – Royals Sports Group, owners of Rajasthan Royals

SuperSport Park, Pretoria – JSW Sports, co-owners of Delhi Capitals

All six successful bidders have extensive experience in operating franchises across multiple sports and deep cricketing expertise through their ownership in the world’s leading T20 tournament, the Indian Premier League.