Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh lavished admiration on Ashish Nehra, the head coach of the Gujarat Titans, comparing his enthusiastic, hands-on style to that of a football manager and praising him for bringing the team together.
Speaking on JioHotstar, Harbhajan claimed that the Gujarat Titans’ success was largely due to Nehra’s ongoing engagement with players and in-depth knowledge of the game.
“Ashish Nehra is the only person who makes the atmosphere comfortable anywhere, anytime. Wherever he goes, he makes everyone around him feel at ease,” PTI quoted Harbhajan as saying.
Harbhajan emphasized Nehra’s proactive participation throughout games, saying, “He is like a football coach. He never sits still. Throughout the entirety of a match, he will find a player and keep talking to him.”
According to Harbhajan, Nehra’s ability to maintain group cohesion while simultaneously providing tactical clarity has been his greatest contribution.
“Nehra ji has a great understanding of the game. The work he has done with Gujarat Titans is commendable,” he said.
In the same interactive session, former Indian batter Suresh Raina emphasized the effort required for young pacers Ashok Sharma and Kartik Tyagi to succeed in the IPL.
In addition to highlighting Ashok Sharma’s emotional journey—disclosing how his older brother gave up his own cricket aspirations so Ashok could pursue the sport—Raina attributed Tyagi’s impressive recovery to his fitness and work ethic following injury setbacks.
“Both these young fast bowlers are a great sign for Indian cricket. The future of India’s pace attack looks very promising,” Raina said.
Tyagi’s perseverance was also commended by former Indian fast bowler Umesh Yadav, who cited technical adjustments in his bowling action and run-up that enabled him to overcome persistent injury worries.
“Kartik Tyagi has made several changes to his game. He shortened his stride, worked on his action and managed his injury issues well. Now he is leading KKR’s bowling attack. It is great to see a young Indian fast bowler fight back like this,” Umesh said.
