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The Gujarat Titans, led by Shubman Gill, might have failed to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season after losing the final against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), but head coach Ashish Nehra's resume is getting better day by day. Nehra, who joined Gujarat as the head coach before the IPL 2022 season, has already won one season with the franchise and also led the team to two finals. In the five years he has been at the helm of the team, the Titans have made it to the playoffs four times, missing just once in 2024.
The overwhelming success in the T20 tournament has led Sanjay Manjrekar to make a bold call, saying the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should keep Nehra in mind when choosing the next white-ball coach for the senior men's team.
As of now, Gautam Gambhir remains the head coach of India, and his contract runs up to the 2027 ODI World Cup. However, the former Indian opener might also be handed an extension until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the T20 World Cup. But Manjrekar believes Nehra should also be viewed as the next option.
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“If at all India is looking for a T20 coach, then this is a guy who’s given the results. He has an amazing record. Ashish Nehra is your hardcore street-smart cricketer. If you talk cricket with him, he’s not somebody who will get too emotional, he’ll just be able to look at the problems that his team has,” Manjrekar told Sportstar’s Insight Edge podcast.
“He is a sharp reader of the game, and somebody who doesn’t think too much outside cricket or trying to please somebody and playing these games that you want to play to survive or keep certain people happy, and I think that is where the players see it," he added.
‘Doesn’t take credit'
Manjrekar, who is often for calling a spade a spade, said that the biggest quality about Nehra is that he doesn't like to take credit and is okay being behind the scenes.
“You can see that he doesn’t get affected by success as a coach. He wouldn’t want to take too much credit, he’s just a simple guy doing the hard yards quite easily and seems to love it," said Manjrekar.
The former Indian batter was also quite clear that Nehra should be considered only as a potential head coach, and he shouldn't be roped in as the bowling coach or consultant.
“I don’t think he should come in as a bowling coach, because if he’s a guy who’s been the head coach and has got his team to do so well under different captains, then if he comes in, he should come in as the head coach," said Manjrekar.
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