As per a report in News18 CricketNext, Ashish Nehra and Director of Cricket Vikram Solanki are likely to end their stints with the 2022 champions. Ashish Nehra's close friend and his former India teammate Yuvraj Singh is likely to replace Nehra as the new head coach of Gujarat Titans.
"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," said a source close to the developments.
Nehra gave Gujarat Titans a whole new identity after guiding them to title win in their very first attempt in 2022. The former India pacer built the team from the scratch and persuaded Hardik Pandya to join Gujarat Titans from Mumbai Indians.
Gujarat finished as the runners-up in their second season (IPL 2023), but finished eighth in the IPL 2024. Hardik Pandya was traded back to Mumbai Indians, while experienced pace Mohammed Shami also missed the entire season due to an injury. Shubman Gill took over the captaincy as GT managed to win only five of their 14 league stage matches.
How Yuvraj Singh as Gujarat Titans coach makes sense?
The two-time world champion does not only have a close relationship with Nehra, but also enjoys a great bonding with Shubman Gill. Both Yuvraj and Gill hail from Punjab, and the former has guided the Gujarat captain through his budding career.
If true, this will also be Yuvraj Singh's first stint as the head coach of a team. After retiring from international cricket in 2019, the southpaw has participated in league cricket, donned the commentary role, but never coached or mentored a team.
Yuvraj Singh, who recently led India Champions to title triumph in World Championship of Legends, played 132 IPL matches, and also has the experience of leading IPL sides.