Ashish Nehra has not ruled out applying for the job of the men’s national head coach in the future but said the travel involved in it makes it a much tougher prospect than tutoring an IPL team. The former India seamer even joked that he would need approval from his wife, Rushma, or it would end up in a divorce.
Gautam Gambhir is the current head coach of the team. Because he leads all three formats, the only breaks he gets are during the IPL or during relatively unimportant tours, where the BCCI asks VVS Laxman, the head of the Centre of Excellence, to temporarily take over. Gambhir’s predecessor Rahul Dravid was said to be put off by the travel, and even Laxman reportedly doesn’t want the role full-time for the same reason.
“Again, it is very
difficult to answer that right now. First things first, I would have to check with the High Commission — that is my wife! Otherwise, I might get a divorce,” Nehra said, speaking at the CAB Annual Awards ceremony in Kolkata on September 7.
“International coaching involves travelling for eight or nine months a year. It is not easy. Everybody has seen that, when it comes to international coaching, not too many people have lasted more than three or four years because of the kind of demands and travelling involved. But again, we’ll see,” he added.
Nehra, however, did not rule out the possibility of eventually taking up the India job. He described it as an honour but stressed that becoming the national coach is not something he has actively planned for.
“I would not use the word ‘ambition’. I never plan things like that. Yes, it would be a great honour and privilege, but I never plan for things like that. We’ll see what happens in the future. I am very happy where I am.”
Nehra, who is considered one of the best old-school tacticians in Indian cricket, has been Gujarat Titans’ head coach since 2022, guiding them to the IPL title in their debut season and two runner-up finishes.
