Immediately after the end of Rahul Dravid’s contract in June 2024, Gautam Gambhir was appointed as the head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team on July 9. Gautam Gambhir turned out to be a strong contender for this post after having served successfully as the mentor of KKR in IPL 2024. He was appointed after an interview by the COC, wherein he was shortlisted among the two candidates, thus sealing his position as the front-runner for the post.
While many high-profile names from the international circuit, like Ricky Ponting, Justin Langer, Mahela Jayawardene, and Stephen Fleming, were in contention, BCCI has been keen on having an Indian coach. If there are some names within India that could have taken up the role, then Ashish Nehra would figure prominently among them. Many fans and cricketing legends believe Nehra fitted the bill as a strong candidate because of his impressive record. But Nehra did not apply for the post.
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Recently, in an interview with Sports Tak, Ashish Nehra revealed the reason behind it. “The young children at home, because of whom I didn’t want to take up the responsibility as it would have required a lot of travel,” he said.
Ashish Nehra explains his decision not to apply for India’s head coach position.https://t.co/Cqe0pW5RsX#SLvsIND #PakistanCricket #ChampionsTrophy2025 #IPL2025
— CricInside365 (@CricInside365) July 24, 2024
Ashish Nehra said, “Meri abhi kabhi us tareh soch nahi gayi hai. My kids are young. GG ke bacche bhi abhi young hai par sabki soch alag alag hoti hai, toh I am very happy where I am. I am not in the mood to travel for nine months (I never thought about it. My children are still young. Gautam Gambhir also has young children, but everyone has different ideas. That’s why I am happy where I am. I am not in the mood to travel for nine months).
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Nehra has been the head coach of the Gujarat Titans in the IPL for the past three seasons. He created history in 2022 as he became the first Indian head coach to win the IPL title. In his second season, again Nehra led the Gujarat Titans into the finals, though they lost against the Chennai Super Kings. Though Nehra never applied for the post of head coach of the national team, through the IPL, he has been contributing much towards Indian cricket.
