Former Indian left-arm pacer Ashish Nehra and former England cricketer Vikram Solanki have played crucial roles in Gujarat Titans’ early successes. Their possible fates in the Gujarat Titans have been revealed.

Gujarat Titans made their IPL debut in the 2022 season. Under the leadership of Hardik Pandya, the Titans won the title in their first season (2022) and finished as the runners-up in their second season (2023). 

Due to the exit of Hardik, Gujarat Titans chose Shubman Gill as the new captain for the IPL 2024. However, the Titans struggled in the IPL 2024 and finished in eighth place.

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Nehra and Solanki have been with Gujarat Titans since their IPL debut

After the disappointing IPL 2024 performances, there were several rumours of major changes in the coaching staff. The batting coach and mentor Gary Kirsten already left the team for the head coach role of the Pakistan national cricket team. Meanwhile, the head coach Ashish Nehra and the director of cricket Vikram Solanki’s contracts had been ended soon after the IPL 2024.

Gujarat Titans may experience ownership changes soon. Torrent Pharma, an Ahmedabad-based company, has reportedly shown interest in acquiring a major and controlling stake in this IPL team. Amid the ownership change rumour, there was news about the exit of Nehra and Solanki from the team. 

Experienced coaching staff are important

However, according to the recent Cricbuzz report, Nehra and Solanki are likely to continue their roles for Gujarat Titans for the next season, IPL 2025. 

It is a crucial time for every IPL team. While every IPL team will have a short-limited power of retention, which the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will announce soon, every team will then participate in the mega auction to fill up the squad. 

The short retention and mega auction are very crucial for each team. An experienced coaching staff can guide the team management to set up a strong squad.  

The next IPL season will see big changes in the coaching setups of many teams. Gautam Gambhir, Abhishek Nayar, and Ryan ten Doeschate have left Kolkata Knight Riders to join the Indian team’s coaching staff, and Ricky Ponting has ended his time as head coach of Delhi Capitals.

According to News18, head coach Ashish Nehra and Director of Cricket Vikram Solanki might leave Gujarat Titans before IPL 2025. Last season, GT finished eighth on the points table under Shubman Gill’s captaincy, who took over from Hardik Pandya.

Nehra and Solanki joined the Titans in IPL 2022 and led the team to their first title in their debut season, a huge achievement. Titans had a great run in IPL 2023, reaching the final where Chennai Super Kings beat them. However, this year, they missed the playoffs after failing to replace all rounder Hardik Pandya, who was traded to Mumbai Indians, and also missed the injured Mohammad Shami.

Ashish Nehra and Vikram Solanki likely to leave Gujarat Titans

The report mentions that Titans are talking to Yuvraj Singh about joining the coaching staff as Nehra and Solanki are expected to leave.

“Lot of changes on the cards. Ashish Nehra and Vikram Solanki are highly likely to move on and discussions around Yuvraj Singh have already begun. Nothing is finalised right now but there could be some major changes in the coaching staff of the Gujarat Titans,” says a source

Yuvraj Singh in talks for coaching role with Gujarat Titans

Yuvraj has mentored GT captain Shubman Gill before, and they share a great bond off the field, but Yuvraj has no IPL coaching experience.

Gary Kirsten, who was Titans assistant coach for the past three seasons, has already left to become head coach of the Pakistan cricket team. Other coaching staff members like Aashish Kapoor, Naeem Amin, Narender Negi, and Mithun Manhas are also expected to leave if Nehra and Solanki depart.

IPL owners set to meet BCCI

IPL team owners will probably meet with the BCCI on July 30 or 31. The exact date isn’t set yet, but the meeting will happen this month to finalize player retentions and discuss the Impact Player rule and salary cap before the mega auction.

BCCI officials and top executives from various IPL teams have already had one round of discussions. Final decisions will be made when the owners meet with the BCCI’s top leaders.