Published 18:32 IST, November 30th 2023
Why did Ashish Nehra refuse to be the head coach of Indian T20I team? Here's the answer
A look at the reason behind former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra's refusal behind Team India's head coach in the T20I format ahead of the 2024 World Cup.
After the Indian cricket team lost to Australia in the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup, head coach Rahul Dravid's contract as head coach ended. However, ahead of his contract extensions, there were reports that former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra had been offered coaching duty for the Indian T20 side.
Ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup, the Indian team management has started to build the core team for the upcoming major ICC tournament. Team India led by Rohit Sharma has not been able to lift a World T20 title since 2007 and also faced beating in the semi-final stage during the 2022 edition of the tournament.
3 things you need to know
Why did Ashish Nehra refuse the Indian T20I team coaching role?
Ashish Nehra reportedly received an offer to coach the Indian T20I side. The head coach of the IPL team Gujarat Titans, and a former left-arm pacer, declined the offer. He had not given a clear explanation for his refusal. However, reports suggest that Nehra wished to uphold his coaching contract with the Titans, which is up until 2025.
The report also disclosed that Nehra's refusal of the offer was primarily due to the fact that he had a young family and that his Indian coaching duties required a lot of travel. Given that Rahul Dravid's contract extension timeline is unknown, Ashish Nehra may eventually think about taking over as the team's white-ball coach.
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Who will be India's captain in the T20 World Cup 2024?
Indian captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have not featured in any T20I match after the debacle with England in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final. The ‘Men in Blue’ are being constantly led by Hardik Pandya in the shortest international format by Hardik Pandya, however, due to his unavailability Suryakumar Yadav is currently captaining the side in the IND vs AUS five-match T20I series. With less than 8 months left for the 2024 T20 World Cup, the Indian team is yet to figure out their full-time captain in the T20I format.
Updated 18:32 IST, November 30th 2023