Gary Kirsten, the batting coach and mentor for the Gujarat Titans (GT), praised GT head coach Ashish Nehra, describing him as one of the best tactical coaches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.
The Gujarat Titans won the Indian Premier League 2022 title in their maiden season, defeating Rajasthan Royals in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium, under the guidance of Ashish Nehra, Gary Kirsten, and Vikram Solanki, and led by Hardik Pandya.
Gary Kirsten, speaking on Cricbuzz, said that Nehra is continuously thinking of methods to support his players. He went on to say that Nehra is a low-key guy who dislikes being in the spotlight. He went on to say:
“Ashish is a good buddy with whom I have had a long journey. As a player, I admired his professionalism and willingness to keep learning his game. He is a heart-centered coach who is continuously thinking about his athletes and how he can assist them.
“He keeps a low profile and dislikes being in the spotlight.” He is one of the top tactical coaches in the IPL, and he is constantly talking to his players about how to improve their performances.”
Kirsten, who was India’s head coach during the 2011 World Cup win, has spent time as the head coach of numerous international teams and franchises; however, he was not the head coach of the Gujarat Titans, which he described as a tremendous learning experience. He declared:
“Not being the head coach was a tremendous learning experience for me.” First and foremost, I thoroughly appreciated it. Second, I believe that strong Indian leadership is required in the IPL because it is an Indian tournament with 85 percent of the players speaking Hindi as their first language. When you’re in the middle of a 10-week campaign, the Indian leadership has a good understanding of how the entire vast machine works.”
Gary Kirsten went on to say that they intended to establish a formidable bowling unit, which is exactly what they got during the IPL 2022 auction.
“We realised we were going to be the team that hit the fewest sixes, but we hit the most fours.” We knew we’d be up against the competition’s fewest dot balls. From a bowling standpoint, we knew we wanted to be the best in the PowerPlay and the best at the end, and that’s precisely what we got.”