The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have taken in yet another ex-member of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Carl Crowe, to be their spin bowling coach for IPL 2026. The LSG revealed Crowe’s hiring on his 50th birthday. Additionally, he has been given the role of the spin-bowling coach of LSG’s sister franchise – Durban Super Giants in SA20.
Just weeks before the auction, the timing could not have been more perfect, as the! franchise gets an opportunity to synchronize its player strategy with the IPL 2026 auction.
Which Factors Make Carl Crowe The Right Choice For LSG Spin Vision?
With Ex-KKR pace bowling coach Bharat Arun (bowling coach) and Carl Crowe (spin coach) now LSG have literally imported the core of support staff. His mastery of spin variations, tactical bowling in middle overs understanding of pitch conditions will come in handy for LSG. Since the franchise can use both black-soil and red-soil pitches at their home venue in Lucknow.
Crowe can claim to have a wealth of experience working with the best T20 teams and players. Crowe has been a spinning consultant to KKR and has been a key figure developing spinners like Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine, and now LSG has him before the IPL mini-auction.
The Englishman, a former all-rounder with Leicestershire, has created quite a name in the T20 spin consulting business. His work with KKK spinners has been appreciated a lot. During the IPL 2024 season, KKR came on top with Shreyas Iyer as their captain and Crowe was the spinner’s consultant. He has also mentored teams across several franchise T20 leagues such as Big Bash League (BBL), T20 Blast, Caribbean Premier League (CPL), and Global T20 Canada.
The 50-year-old has never been called up to the England national team. Nevertheless, Carl participated in 50 First Class matches, 40 List A and one T20 game. He scored in total 695 in First Class, 187 in List A and nine runs in the T20s.
What Will Be Carl Crowe’s First’ plan of action?
The team of Rishabh Pant has kept a number of good players, but has also let go of their best spinner, Ravi Bishnoi, as a result of his poor performance in IPL 2025 season. This decision marks LSG’s intention to improve their spin bowling department which has always been a weak point in their bowling attack. In IPL 2025, the duo of Bishnoi and his two partners, Rathi and Siddharth, took 32 wickets but at a high cost as they conceded 9.53 runs per over, which was the second-highest economy after Sunrisers Hyderabad (10).
With the IPL 2026 just around the corner, LSG have still to fill six positions, among which four are for foreign players, and they have a healthy budget of ₹22.95. The appointment of a dedicated spin coach is anticipated to affect their auction strategy, with a focus on acquiring at least one wicket-taking spinner.
LSG Retained Players 2026:
Rishabh Pant (C), Abdul Samad, Ayush Badoni, Aiden Markram, Matthew Breetzke, Himmat Singh, Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Arshin Kulkarni, Arjun Tendulkar (Trade in), Mohammed Shami (Trade in), Mayank Yadav