Former World Cup-winning head coach of the Indian team, Gary Kirsten, commended former Indian bowler Ashish Nehra, who became the first Indian head coach to guide his team to the Indian Premier League title.
Nehra achieved this feat after the Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans (GT) won the IPL 2022 final, defeating the Rajasthan Royals by 7 wickets on Sunday, 29th May.
The 43-year-old former pacer was appointed as Gujarat’s head coach in the 15th edition of the IPL, while Kirsten was brought in as the team’s mentor. The duo played an important role in helping the Titans lift their maiden IPL trophy in their debut season.
In an interview with Cricbuzz, the former South African cricketer revealed Nehra’s motto as a coach and said that the former India player is a firm believer in having multiple gameplans and strategies ready, in order to deal with the tough, unforeseeable situations of a T20 match.
"Ashish wants his players to have options, and he helps them understand when to use them. A set game plan is not possible in the IPL; the matches are extremely complex with new scenarios happening all the time. This requires in-the-moment planning and players who can think for themselves and adjust a game plan or use a different strategy in an over. As coaches, we help the players think through this," Gary said.
This was Kirsten’s third collaboration with Nehra as a coach, after their tenure as the coaching staff of the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Interestingly, Nehra was part of the 2011 World cup winning Indian team which was coached by Kirsten.
"Ashish is a close friend and we have walked a long journey together. As a player, I enjoyed his willingness to keep understanding his game and his professionalism. He coaches with his heart, always thinking about his players and how he can help them. He’s low profile and does not like the spotlight. He is tactically one of the best coaches in the IPL and is always talking to his players about how to make better performances," said Kirsten.
(CricBuzz reports)
