"Work hard and enjoy the process": our core ethos as we steam into season 2!
“Ashish Nehra sets the benchmark for work ethic, and has the most fun while doing it,” says Vikram Solanki, the Director of Cricket.
22 December, 2022
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Tata IPL 2023 is only a few months away, but for the defending champions Gujarat Titans, the first battle to reclaim the title begins at the auction table, in less than a week.
The GT management, spearheaded by head coach Ashish Nehra, assistant coach Mithun Manhas and Director of Cricket Vikram Solanki have their tasks cut out ahead of the Mini Auction in Kochi and they will not be leaving any stone unturned to assemble a competitive team.
The 100,000 cameras lighting up at the Narendra Modi Stadium as Shubman Gill “finished it off in style”, culminated a beautiful journey for the Gujarat Titans in 2022. Their success, against all the odds, was a testament to the incredible scouting done before the tournament, and how the coaching staff made the players achieve their highest potential.
Vikram Solanki credits Ashish Nehra for setting the tone so wonderfully in the world’s biggest cricket league.
“Having watched Ashish coach and operate last year, I know nobody who is as giving of their time and effort towards developing cricketers,” Solanki said.
“He also has the most fun at the training ground and it’s transmitted to a lot of players. He is instilling the work ethic in players and team, also the notion of enjoying while working hard. He does it, he insists all of the support staff to work as hard. And have as much fun as well.”
To scout for players in a country with so many talented players can be a tricky task and our Head Coach is only excited by it. “You have to give the guys as many opportunities as you can. If they’re good, it’s your responsibility as a coach to work hard with them,” Nehra explained.
Assistant coach Mithun Manhas echoed the same sentiment, and suggested that the tournament is not about the coaching staff, it is about the players. He says, “Our role is to raise the players to their highest potential. That’s what it is all about, it’s not about us (coaches), it’s about them (players)”.
The Tata IPL brings together cricketers from all walks of life under one roof and to maintain harmony in the dressing room is a pivotal key to the treasure.
“It is very important to see how players operate in a team environment. How they practice, how they conduct themselves, how they’re behaving, the energy they’re bringing in, you can see all those things matter. The more time you spend with the players, the better you get to know them,” explained Solanki, aptly summarizing the need of the hour.
The recipe for success may be difficult to decode in a tournament like this, but the Titans are committed to walking the extra mile in finding the right talents that tick their boxes.
“We must not waste the opportunity to watch a player, any chance we get, we in the coaching department should take it. We’ve taken the conscious decision to stay here and spend time with the players rather than just walking in and out of a domestic match,” the Director of Cricket added.
The Gujarat Titans are preparing for the Tata IPL Auction, due to take place in Kochi on December 23, 2022. They move into the auction with an updated purse of INR 19.25 crore.
Here’s a list of the Titans who have been retained for Tata IPL 2023
Shubman Gill, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudarshan, Hardik Pandya (C), Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan (VC), Vijay Shankar, Sai Kishore, Jayant Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Noor Ahmad, Darshan Nalkande, Pradeep Sangwan
