Gautam Gambhir was appointed as the new head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team on July 9, after Rahul Dravid’s contract came to an end in June 2024. Gambhir was one of the two candidates interviewed for the role by COC, and after his successful stint as mentor of KKR in IPL 2024, he was seen as a favourite for the role, and he eventually managed to seal the deal as well.
Many high-profile overseas names, like Ricky Ponting, Justin Langer, Mahela Jayawardene, and Stephen Fleming, were also reportedly in the race, but BCCI’s preference was always an Indian for the job.
Among former Indian players, Ashish Nehra was another big name who was seen as a suitable candidate for the top job by many fans and former greats of the game, but the former pacer didn’t apply for the role. And now, during an interview with Sports Tak, the 45-year-old cricketer has opened up about why he didn’t apply.
According to him, his children are young, and he was not in the mood to travel for nine months.
“Meri abhi kabhi us tareh soch nahi gayi hai. My kids are young. GG ke bacche bhi abhi young hai par sabki soch alag alag hoti hai, toh I am very happy where I am. I am not in the mood to travel for nine months (I never thought about it. My children are still young. Gautam Gambhir also has young children, but everyone has different ideas. That’s why I am happy where I am. I am not in the mood to travel for nine months),” Nehra said.
Nehra, who has been associated with the Gujarat Titans in the IPL as head coach for the last three seasons, created history in 2022 by becoming the first Indian ever to win the IPL title as head coach. In his second season, the member of India’s 2011 ODI World Cup-winning team again took GT to the final of the IPL, but they failed to win the title and finished as runner-up after going down by five wickets against Chennai Super Kings in the final.
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