Lucknow Super Giants(LSG) have appointed Abhay Sharma as fielding coach for IPL 2026, replacing Jonty Rhodes after back-to-back seventh-place finishes.
Former Delhi cricketer Abhay Sharma has joined LSG as fielding coach for IPL 2026. The 56-year-old adds extensive domestic and international coaching experience to the support staff.
Abhay Sharma served on India’s Under-19 support staff at the 2016, 2018 and 2020 World Cups. India won the 2018 title during his tenure. He also worked closely with young players such as Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Arshdeep Singh, Dhruv Jurel, Avesh Khan and Yashasvi Jaiswal in their formative years.
In 2021, he joined the Indian women’s team as fielding coach. Sharma later took charge of Uganda as head coach for the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies. Uganda ended the partnership after the African qualifiers, where Zimbabwe and Namibia secured qualification.
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Sharma takes over from Jonty Rhodes, who handled fielding duties from 2023 to 2025. The move follows two disappointing seasons for the franchise. After reaching the playoffs in their first two IPL campaigns, LSG finished seventh in the last two editions. In IPL 2025, the side only had six wins in 14 matches under captain Rishabh Pant.
Head coach Justin Langer has overseen several structural changes. The franchise recently appointed Tom Moody as Global Director of Cricket and Kane Williamson as Strategic Advisor ahead of IPL 2026.
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