Ashish Nehra Birthday Special: Five Traits of Gujarat Titans Head Coach Which Made the Franchise Champions in Their Inaugural Season of IPL

One of the most successful franchises in the recent times has been newly included Gujarat Titans. Playing their inaugural season in 2022 representing Gujarat, the franchise ensured a great run in the competition, eventually going on to lift the title of IPL. They had a great second season too where they made all the way to the final again but missed out to Chennai Super Kings by in the last over of the match. Despite that, it can be said that Gujarat Titans has found a way to succeed in their initial years only while many franchises are yet to find success even playing in the IPL for 17 years. Much of the credit goes to the system GT created with the likes of the presence of Ashish Kapoor, Vikram Solanki and Gary Kirsten in the think tank. But the majority goes to none other than the head coach Ashish Nehra, who has not only made GT successful in IPL, but also changed coaching in cricket. Gujarat Titans Coach Ashish Nehra Dances With Son Arush as Harpreet Brar Sings During Training Session Ahead of GT vs PBKS IPL 2024 Clash (Watch Video).

Nehra started his IPL coaching career as bowling coach for RCB in 2018. He was there for two seasons but the franchise didn't find success at that point. After working as an commentator and expert for the next two seasons, Nehra returned again in the coaching role and this time it was for Gujrat Titans. In this article, we will see five things that made the franchise coaches by Ashish Nehra so successful in just their initial years in the competition.

1. Environment: Chennai Super Kings has been one of the biggest franchises of the Indian Premier League. They have appeared in 10 IPL finals and won the competition five times. Several cricketers have spoken about the environment on offer in the franchise created by MS Dhoni and the support staff which helps them to relax and perform at their best. Even after many attempts, nobody has been able to replicate the same other franchises. But Nehra, who has been a part of CSK in 2014-15, followed the same route and this time he was successful in providing a similar and relaxed environment to the Gujarat Titans players. Relieved of performance anxiety and pressure, the GT cricketers performed at their best on road to their inaugural title.

2. Trust On Bowling: Ashish Nehra has always believed on the cliche 'batters win you games, bowlers win you titles'. When the constructed the GT team on the auction table, he assigned the majority of the budget for the purchase of bowlers. Star Afghanistan cricketer Rashid Khan was drafted in before the auction and he was supported by the purchase of Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph and Noor Ahmad. Most of who were expensive but knowing the value of a quality bowling attack in the IPL, Nehra never stepped back during the bidding which ended up being a game changer for his side.

3. Management of Information: With T20 cricket evolving at a very fast rate, it is very difficult for the on-field captain to keep pace with the game and apply all the information and plans about the opposition at the right time. When captain Hardik Pandya was getting along with his new role of captain, Ashish Nehra acted on the sidelines like a football coach and provided him with information and tactical inputs over by over and at times ball by ball. This helped Pandya to catch the pace of the game and eventually the duo gelled up well taking GT all the way to the title.

4. Reliance on Experience: While recruitment, Ashish Nehra made sure that the kept players in the squad who are well experienced. From David Miller, Rahul Tewatia to Wriddhiman Saha, Vijay Shankar and Mohammed Shami, Nehra has valued experience repeatedly as he knew that the experience of being part of similar situations before can overcome lack of form as the cricketer can then find ways to counter any and every hardships thrown at them with little support provided by the management. The risk paid well for him and played a crucial role in their title-winning campaign.

5. Belief On Continuity: As learn from his stay in Chennai Super Kings, Ashish Nehra is non-believer of reacting to result. He never does chopping and changing with his squad. Provided role clarity, the players are backed for a significant number of games irrespective of their success or failure taking away any kind of insecurity or doubt about their position. Examples can given of the likes of Wriddhiman Saha, Vijay Shankar or Mohit Sharma, who were not always in the best of forms while playing for GT, but were backed and when it mattered they delivered a strong performance and repaid the trust. Gujarat Titans’ Assistant Coach Aashish Kapoor Expresses His Disappointment With Bowlers’ Ordinary Performance in IPL 2024.Y

Indian Premier League is the biggest domestic competition in the world and it is very difficult to find success in it despite being a good team. The way Gujarat Titans won the title only in their inaugural season clearly indicates at the good processes they have placed and the qualities of head coach Ashish Nehra. Fans will hope that Nehra keeps on finding success and do big things in coaching.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 29, 2024 06:45 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).