The Lucknow IPL team, which had earlier appointed Andy Flower as head coach and Gautam Gambhir as the mentor ahead of IPL 2022, has roped former India wicket-keeper batter Vijay Dahiya as assistant coach.

A Board of Control for Cricket in India official refuted to Kirti Azad's allegations that former India wicketkeeper Vijay Dahiya has 'conflict of interest' in dual role as assistant coach of Kolkata Knight Riders as well as being the chief coach of Delhi Ranji team.

Vijay Dahiya, and not Ajay Jadeja, was always their first choice as coach says DDCA's head of Sports Committee Vinod Tihara.

It was learnt that Dahiya, a former India stumper had demanded Rs 35 lakh but it seems that he will have to settle for an amount which is nearly half the figure quoted by him.

Vijay Dahiya, a member of the Kolkata Knight Riders coaching staff, had coached the Delhi in the 2012-13 season before DDCA decided against renewing his contract as assistant coach Sanjeev Sharma was elevated to top post.

The All Powerful Sports Committee of the DDCA on Friday met at the Feroze Shah Kotla and decided unanimously to sack Dahiya and appoint Sharma who has worked under Manoj Prabhakar and then Dahiya as an assistant coach.

Captain Gautam Gambhir, who is down with jaundince, did not attend the session and assistant coach Vijay Dahiya was seen playing the role of the mentor to the likes of Rajat Bhatia, Pradeep Sangwan and Manvinder Bisla.

Gambhir batted for a lengthy duration twice but never looked comfortable against the left-arm pace duo of Ashish Nehra and Pradeep Sangwan. Sangwan, who is unlikely to play on Tuesday, was seen beating Gambhir's bat on a number of occasions.

Meanwhile, a beleaguered Delhi side having lost three away matches, have requested the authorities at Roshanara ground to prepare a 'Green Top' which will atleast produce a result unlike the dead strips provided at the Feroz Shah Kotla by former BCCI chief curator Venkat Sundaram.

Delhi coach Vijay Dahiya on Sunday said skipper Virender Sehwag has got stitches on his index finger due to an injury but added that it is not a serious cause of concern for the star cricket batsman.