Head Coach Ashish Nehra was seen giving instructions to Jayant, who passed them on to Mohit, but it seemed to have the exact opposite effect. There was a brief interruption in the game. On the air, Kevin Peterson questioned this tactic and said, Does this disrupt the dynamic, Bish (Ian Bishop)? Does it disrupt the tempo for Mohit Sharma to get someone on the field? Shouldn’t he just stay in his zone and perform his skills?
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, speaking on Star Sports, was of the same opinion as well. He (Mohit) pitched the first 3-4 innings absolutely brilliantly. Then, for some strange reason, they sent him some water. In the middle of the game they sent him some kind of drink. Then Hardik Pandya came in and talked to him. When a bowler is in that rhythm and mentally he’s in place too, no one had to say anything to him. Walking up to him, talking to him – I don’t think it was right, because he suddenly started looking this way and that way. Up to that point he was focused, and I don’t think what they did was the right idea. Because after that he went running.
On the fifth ball, Ravindra Jadeja hit Mohita for six off the ground and suddenly the pressure shifted to the bowler. He hit a low full toss on the left-hand stump and the left-hander made the boundary, winning his fifth CSK title.
It wasn’t the first time Nehra tried to make an impact on the field from the boundary line. Throughout this season, he continually suggested changes to the pitch to the captain, interacted with the bowlers at the boundary line and had lively conversations with the batsmen.
Nehra’s Coaching Style
Nehra was the head coach when Gujarat Titans won the title in 2022 in his first season. But he didn’t call himself an all-knowing coach.
I’m not a super coach. I’m just a regular person. I sit off the field and watch the game as a spectator. People say all those things when a team wins. Every coach works hard and gets results in games, he said in an interview about last year’s trophy.
The former Indian seamstress does have his own unique style. Unlike other coaches who have taken their teams to the playoffs this season — Stephen Fleming, Mark Boucher and Andy Flower — who limit themselves to their dugout and don’t try to influence captains’ decisions during games, Nehra has always been a hands-on coach.
He’s like a soccer coach. Goes back and forth.а. And I was like, this is something new, this is new coaching. It’s an innovation. That’s what the coaching process at T20 should be, said Delhi Capitals captain David Warner on the Breakfast with the Champions program.
Even during his time with the Royal Challengers Bangalore as bowling coach, Nehra was constantly involved in bowling changes and fielding decisions. He even convinced then RCB skipper Virat Kohli to field left-arm spinner Pawan Negi in the 19th over against the Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium against two right-handers Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard.
That move backfired, as the 22 balls required in the two overs were scored in that one over. At that point, RCB still had overs from Swedes Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Navdeep Saini. Nehra was subject to trolling on social media and much criticism at the time. His poor performance at RCB was also one of the reasons why many were surprised when he was appointed coach of the Titans.
His former India and Delhi teammate Virender Sehwag said Nehra never skimped on words.
Nehra was always giving advice to cricketers. It creates pressure on them to perform as well as possible. After adjusting every ball, is there any chance of making a mistake? said Sehwag in an interview with Cricbuzz.
Nehra, however, has had success with the Titans playing in this style, winning the trophy last season and losing in the final this year. But it should be emphasized that GT’s team is much more versatile and experienced than the RCB team he once led. After the IPL finals, we will have to wait and see if it’s Lesynu learning from Nehra or if his soccer coaching style is the way of the future.