New Delhi [India], November 25 (ANI): Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have named former England cricketer Carl Crowe as their new spin bowling coach for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 tournament on Tuesday.

The development was confirmed after the Lucknow-based franchise shared a post on their X handle.

https://x.com/LucknowIPL/status/1993193133698695182

The former England cricketer, who is a prominent figure in T20 spin-bowling coaching for over a decade, previously worked with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) during the IPL 2024 season.

Carl is known for his insightful approach to T20 spin bowling. He played a crucial role in KKR's spin bowling attack during the IPL 2024 edition, where they lifted the title under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer.

Crowe has also worked in various T20 global cricket leagues, including the Big Bash League (BBL), T20 Blast, and Global T20 Canada. The former England had an unconventional method of having spin bowlers practice delivering 'bad balls' in net sessions.

The 50-year-old never made his England debut. However, Carl played 50 First Class matches, 40 List A and one T20 game. He amassed 695 in First Class, 187 in List A and nine runs in the T20s.

The IPL 2026 mini-auction will take place on December 16 in Abu Dhabi.

Talking about LSG, the franchise has retained a total of 17 players, including 13 Indians and four overseas players, ahead of the IPL 2026 mini auction.

India's Test vice-captain Rishabh Pant will lead Lucknow during the IPL 2026 edition.

Apart from Pant, Ayush Badoni, Himmat Singh, Mohsin Khan, Arshin Kulkarni, Prince Yadav, Shahbaz Ahamad, Avesh Khan, Akash Singh, Digvesh Rathi, M Siddharth, Abdul Samad, and Mayank Yadav will once again don Lucknow's jersey in the upcoming edition of the IPL.

Australia's T20I captain Mitchell Marsh, West Indies batter Nicholas Pooran, South Africa's T20I skipper Aiden Markram, and Matthew Breetzke are retained as the overseas cricketers for the IPL 2026 season.

David Miller, Ravi Bishnoi, Aryan Juyal, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Akash Deep, Will O'Rourke, and Shamar Joseph have been released by LSG.

Shardul Thakur was traded to the Mumbai Indians for INR 2 crore. On the other hand, Mohammad Shami, a Purple Cap winner, was traded from the Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 10 crore. Arjun Tendulkar has also been roped in from the Mumbai Indians for INR 30 lakhs. (ANI)