Gujarat Titans’ head coach Ashish Nehra and Director of Cricket Vikram Solanki are likely to leave the franchise ahead of the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Both Nehra and Solanki have been with the side since their inaugural season in 2022 where they won the title and followed it up with another final appearance in 2023.
It is reliably learnt that name of Yuvraj Singh is doing rounds to join the coaching set-up of Gujarat Titans but no final decision has been made yet. It’s safe to say there will be plenty of changes in the backroom staff of the side as Gary Kirsten, mentor of the side, has already moved on after taking a full-time role with the Pakistan cricket team.
“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 close to developments.
Aashish Kapoor, Naeem Amin, Narender Negi and Mithun Manhas are other coaches part of the set-up and some of these could be exploring other teams too. GT had a fantastic start to their IPL journey with one title and a final but had a forgettable season in 2024 where they finished in eighth position under new captain Shubman Gill.
Hardik Pandya’s transfer to Mumbai Indians meant GT struggled to find the right balance in the XI and the absence of Mohammed Shami due to an injury hurt their chances. The next few weeks are going to be interesting as far as Gujarat Titans are concerned as they are likely to finalise their coaching staff.
Rahul Dravid on the move
Former India head coach Rahul Dravid is likely to return to the Rajasthan Royals set-up as the head coach of the franchise. Dravid has played for RR in the past and also served as their mentor in 2014 and 2015.
After those two seasons as a mentor, Dravid began his long association with the Indian cricket team which started with the U-19 & A sides, moved to the NCA and ended as head coach of the senior team. The former India captain’s last outing as head coach turned out to be a memorable one as India was crowned 2024 T20 World Cup champions.
IPL owners to meet BCCI
The owners of IPL franchises are likely to meet the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on either 30 or 31 of this month. The date is yet to be finalised but it’s understood that the meeting will take place this month to finalise the retentions and have discussions on the Impact Player rule and the salary purse ahead of the mega auction.
One round of discussions has already happened between BCCI officials and top executives of different IPL teams, and now final decisions will be made when the owners meet the Indian Cricket Board’s top brass.
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