"Gautam Gambhir never minces his words"- Ashish Nehra issues a stern warning to Indian players

Former India fast bowler Ashish Nehra has opened up on Gautam Gambhir's appointment as India's new head coach. Nehra also predicted Team India's future with Gautam Gambhir as the head coach.

Gautam Gambhir was appointed India's new head coach after Rahul Dravid's tenure ended after T20 World Cup 2024. Dravid requested the BCCI not to renew his contract anymore, which paved the way for Gambhir to take up the job.

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Ashish Nehra opens up on Gautam Gambhir's appointment as India's head coach

While speaking to The Hindu, Ashish Nehra was asked about the selection of Gautam Gambhir as India's new head coach. Nehra heaped praise on his former Delhi teammate and said that Gambhir is very passionate and hard-working. He also claimed that Gambhir will bring that transparency which will help the team with role clarity.

"I know him for so many years and earlier also, I said the same thing again and again. He is the same person. He is very passionate, very hard-working. He is always open, never minces his words which is great. The transparency is there. Going forward, according to me, he will do great," Nehra stated.

Nehra also mentioned that Indian cricket is improving with every year and giving better results. He expects India to go forward under Gautam Gambhir.

"I mean, if you go by results, last five or seven years as cricket is going forward, Indian cricket is giving better and better results. It's going to go in that way only. Like I said, it's really exciting to see," Nehra said.

Ashish Nehra and Gautam Gambhir are good friends off the field. Both the players played international cricket almost at the same time and shared a good relationship.

Ashish Nehra and Gautam Gambhir's record in coaching staff

Both Nehra and Gambhir are not only world-class players on a cricket field but both of them have been excellent while working in the coaching staff as well. In IPL 2024, both Nehra and Gambhir were involved in the coaching staff of their respective teams.

Ashish Nehra served as the head coach of Gujarat Titans. In a short period, the Titans have already won an IPL title and finished as runners-up last year. In IPL 2024, however, they failed to reach the playoffs. Nehra is still the Titans' head coach and is likely to be seen with the team next year.

Meanwhile, Gautam Gambhir was appointed the mentor of Lucknow Super Giants for their first two years in 2022 and 2023. In both seasons, the Super Giants made it to the playoffs stage. In IPL 2024, Gambhir rejoined his former IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders. KKR put up a stupendous performance this year as they became the IPL champions for the third time in their history.

Gautam Gambhir's first assignment as India's head coach was the T20I series against Sri Lanka, which India won 3-0. His next assignment will be the ODI series against Sri Lanka, which will be played in Colombo.