2024-03-18 20:30:00
19 March 2024, 02:00 AM IST
Foreign coaches
• Ashish Nehra
: The Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament is also a coach’s game. Apart from preparing strategies, the main task of the coaches will also be to keep the team motivated during the tournament which lasts for more than two months.
There are currently only two Indians as head coaches in the ten-team IPL, Gujarat Titans’ Ashish Nehra and Kolkata Knight Riders’ Chandrakant Pandit. Apart from the head coach, most of the teams have special coaches for batting, bowling and fielding.
Nehra is a pace bowler who has played 17 Tests and 120 ODIs for India. When Nehra was handed the coaching position of Gujarat Titans, a newcomer to the tournament in 2022, many were skeptical. However, Nehra became a hero among the coaches by winning the title in the very first season. Captain Hardik Pandya and Nehra led Gujarat to the title. Prior to that, Nehra had only worked as a bowling coach at Royal Challengers Bangalore since 2018. The title win in 2022 shocked those who described it as a ‘one-season wonder’
As the Gujarat team reached the finals in the second season as well, it became clear that the coach’s intervention was not trivial. Nehra is currently the coach with the highest strike rate in the IPL. IPL Peruma also achieved the distinction of being the first Indian head coach to win. Team members testified that Nehra’s ability to keep the team motivated was immense.
Wicketkeeper batsman Chandrakant Pandit, who played five Tests and 36 ODIs for India, is more famous in India as a coach than as a player. Teams like Mumbai, Vidarbha and Madhya Pradesh have won Ranji titles under Pandit, the most successful coach in domestic cricket. Pandit, who also worked as the coach of Kerala for some time, took over as the coach of the Kolkata team in 2022. Pandit excelled in all the tasks he undertook, but could not make his mark in the IPL. If the team does not perform well this time, there is a possibility of losing the position of coach.
Foreign coaches
Chennai Super Kings
Stephen Fleming (New Zealand)
Delhi Capitals
Ricky Ponting (Australia)
Lucknow Super Giants
Justin Langer (Australia)
Mumbai Indians
Mark Butcher (South Africa)
Punjab Kings
Trevor Bayliss (Australia)
Rajasthan Royals
Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Andy Flower (Zimbabwe)
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Daniel Vettori (New Zealand)
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