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Franchises have started their preparations for the IPL 2027 players' auction. Ahead of the auction, a journalist claimed that Ashish Nehra, Gujarat Titans (GT) head coach, is obsessed with a few players, and he is not willing to let them go from the team.
Rahul Tewatia is among the few players Ashish Nehra is reportedly obsessed with. There are two other players as well. The franchise officials have raised questions about Nehra's decision, as Tewatia and the other two cricketers had barely any contributions for the Gujarat Titans in the past.
Ashish Nehra keeps supporting three players despite lack of performance
Alongside Rahul Tewatia, Jayant Yadav and Shahrukh Khan are strongly backed by Ashish Nehra. They have been with the team for years, without making any notable contribution to GT's performance in the recent past. As there are no significant contributions, franchise officials naturally want to take a final call on them so that there can be fresh talent in the squad.
As per the claims made during a live session of Beyond the Boundary, journalist Sahil Malhotra presented the insights from the Gujarat Titans camp. According to the journalist's claims, GT officials have raised their concerns over Rahul Tewatia, Jayant Yadav, and Shahrukh Khan, but Ashish Nehra is their support.
"It depends on Ashish Nehra and how much say he has in retention matters. Because I know for a fact that Ashish Nehra is obsessed with a couple of players like Rahul Tewatia, Jayant Yadav, and Shahrukh Khan. And there is one section in GT who is constantly asking what their value is, what their utility is," according to the claim.
"Jayant Yadav, I think he played one final match and got Shikhar Dhawan out. Apart from that, I have no memory of Jayant Yadav in the last 5 years except conveying messages from the boundary row," he added.
🚨👀 BREAKING: Ashish Nehra is OBSESSED with Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan and Jayant Yadav. People within GT are constantly questioning their values and utility. - Infact, Nehra hasn't buy a backup finisher so no matter how much Tewatia will fail, he will play all matches. https://t.co/pI6wChSUmz
— Ahmed Says (@AhmedGT_) October 20, 2026
Rahul Tewatia's performance in the recent past for Gujarat Titans
A few seasons, back, Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan and Jayant Yadav, all three were recognised for their skills, especially Tewatia, who made his name for his batting qualities.
When Rahul Tewatia first appeared in the scenes, he was a batting all-rounder, later, he limited himself only as a batter, and a designated finisher of GT. It is now safe to say that despite all the hypes and flicker of brilliance, he was never able to touch his peak form.
In the previous season, Tewatia concluded his IPL 2026 journey with a 27.14 batting average as he scored 190 from 15 innings. Tewatia joined GT ahead of the 2022 season and became an integral part of the team. His first season with the team was promising as he registered a batting average of 31.00. After that, in four seasons, the lower-middle-order batter's batting averages were below thirty.
Jayant Yadav has played only 1 match for Gujarat Titans
Shahrukh Khan's contributions were also very limited for the Gujarat Titans. 10.75, 29.83, and 18.14 are his batting averages in IPL 2026, IPL 2025, and IPL 2024 seasons, respectively.
And Jayant Yadav, who played 6 Tests and a couple of ODIs for Team India, is now 36 and plays for the Gujarat Titans. After joining GT in 2023, he has played only one match so far. Without any significant contribution on the ground, why the franchise has still kept him with the team is a mystery. If the journalist's claims are to be believed, then with the support of Ashish Nehra, he is there.
