Gautam Gambhir's Potential Successor As India T20 Coach Named: 'Keep Certain People Happy'

As India shifts focus from IPL 2026 to international cricket with the upcoming Afghanistan series, discussions around the future of the national team’s coaching setup have resurfaced. While Gautam Gambhir has overseen a highly successful white-ball phase, with India winning both the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar believes one man stands out if the team ever seeks a dedicated T20 coach: Ashish Nehra.

Nehra has built an impressive reputation as head coach of the Gujarat Titans. Since the franchise’s debut in 2022, Gujarat have emerged as one of the IPL’s most consistent sides, winning the title in their inaugural season, reaching two more finals and making another playoff appearance. Nehra has been

at the helm throughout that journey.

Explaining why he rates Nehra so highly, Manjrekar highlighted the former pacer’s straightforward and practical approach to the game.

“Ashish Nehra is your hard-core, street-smart cricketer. If you talk cricket with him, he’s not somebody who will get too emotional about it; he’ll just be able to look at the problems that his team has,” Manjrekar was quoted as saying to Sportstar.

“I love those kinds of coaches who are very clinical. He is a sharp reader of the game and somebody who doesn’t think too much outside cricket or try to please somebody and play these games that you want to play to survive or keep certain people happy, and I think that is where the players see it,” he added. “Not too much sophistication.”

Why Ashish Nehra?

Manjrekar also praised Nehra’s attitude towards success and his ability to remain grounded despite Gujarat’s achievements.

“You can see that he doesn’t get affected by success as a coach. He wouldn’t want to take too much credit; he’s just a simple guy doing the hard yards quite easily and seems to love it,” said Manjrekar.

Backing Nehra for a future India role, Manjrekar concluded: “If at all India is looking for a T20 coach, then this is a guy who has given results. He has an amazing record.”

“He is going slightly different. Players also need to embrace Ashish Nehra, the coach.

“I don’t think he should come in as a bowling coach, because if he’s a guy who has been the head coach and has got his team to do so well under different captains, then if he comes in, he should come in as the head coach.”

(With inputs from Agencies)