Darren Gough has been appointed as Lahore Qalandars’ head coach and will start his term with the Global Super League (GSL) starting on November 26 in Guyana. 

Thus, Gough will have ample time to settle into the Qalandars’ setup before the main event comes up — Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2025.

Qalandars had the head coach’s position vacant since Aaqib Javed resigned following his appointment in the Pakistan men national team’s selection committee. Javed served Qalandars as their head coach and director of cricket operations for eight years, that is since their inception. 

Qalandars won back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023 but had a grim 2024 season where they finished with the wooden spoon, winning only one out of their 10 league matches. 

“It’s an absolute honour to have been asked by the Lahore Qalandars to be the head coach for the upcoming Global Super League in Guyana,” Gough said in a statement. “I’m really excited about this opportunity because I’ve been fortunate to work with the Qalandars in Lahore on several occasions, assisting with their PDP [player development programme].

“We know that Lahore Qalandars are all about giving young players opportunities they’ve never had before -developing their skills and shaping them into players who can go on to represent the Qalandars, and hopefully make Pakistan cricket proud.”

Gough served as England’s bowling consultant in 2020 post when he became Yorkshire’s managing director after being appointed in December 2021. Yorkshire had been in partnership with Qalandars, aiming to “nurture talent [by] reducing barriers to entry” following the racism crisis. Hence, there had been a connection between Gough and Qalandars. Gough ended his term at Yorkshire in March this year. 

Sameen Rana, co-owner of Qalandars, referred to Gough’s appointment as beginning “a new journey” with Gough’s vision aligning seamlessly with the club’s commitment towards player development. 

The GSL is a five-team event, also involving Hampshire Hawks from the T20 Blast, Rangpur Riders from the BPL, Victoria from Australia, and the hosts Guyana Amazon Warriors. The final will take place on December 7.

Gough played 58 Tests, 159 ODIs and two T20Is for England spanning across 13 years between 1994 and 2006. His tally of 235 ODI wickets is the second-highest for England in the format. 

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