Regarding coaching an IPL team, Ashish Nehra says, “My strategy is to just let them be.”

Ashish Nehra, coach of the Gujarat Titans, discusses the difficulties of leading an IPL club. In his three years as a coach, the 2022 IPL champion and past World Champion has had a good run in the competition.

After taking over as head coach of the Gujarat Titans in 2022, Ashish Nehra led the team to victory. In 2023, they were the finalists. Ashish Nehra has talked about the difficulties of leading the team and the necessity of consistency for the team in a competition as fast-paced as the IPL. He also mentioned how the management must put in a lot of work to assemble the team from scratch for the international competition and how frequently the roster is altered following the auction.

“I don’t only view things from a coach’s point of view. Even if I were a player, I would say that stability is the most important element in a setting like the busy Indian Premier League, which is a lengthy but fast-paced competition. I feel that way. Since no one is judging them here, my strategy is to simply leave them alone. They must first settle down, particularly when they join a new franchise, Ashish Nehra said in an exclusive JioHotstar interview.

“Due to the nature of the sport, you may keep four or five players and possibly get one or two important additions during the auction. Thus, 40–50% of the team is new every three years. The 45-year-old continued, “That means you have to put in extra effort to build the team again, just like the situation we are in now.”

The bio-bubble is no longer present. It would have been simpler if there had been one: Ashish Nehra

Ashish Nehra went on to say that it was simpler to assemble a team during the bio bubble and that it was simpler to foster camaraderie among the players, who only have a week before the competition. Nehra also stated that the goal of team management is to keep things easy for the players, but she also acknowledged how difficult it may be.

The bio-bubble is no longer present. It would have been simpler if there had been one. In a sense, Ahmedabad still feels like a bubble since it’s a positive thing that people don’t go out often. How to invest time and establish rapport with new players in a week is the problem. Clarity is key, both on and off the pitch. Only the fundamentals. It’s not that complicated, in my opinion. I usually advise keeping things simple. It’s a really easy task, but perhaps simplicity isn’t always the best option,” Nehra said.