IPL 2025: Ashish Nehra drops bombshell on why Gujarat Titans let go of Mohammed Shami

The Gujarat Titans' head coach, Ashish Nehra, has opened up about the franchise's decision to part ways with India's ace pacer, Mohammed Shami.

Despite Shami’s crucial contributions to Gujarat Titans' title triumph in 2022 and his stellar performances, the franchise opted not to sign the seasoned pacer for the next season.

Ashish Nehra reveals why Gujarat Titans parted ways with Mohammed Shami

Ashish Nehra revealed that Mohammed Shami was initially in Gujarat Titans' retention plans, but the franchise’s other high-priority acquisitions and the need to balance their squad led them to release the Indian pacer ahead of the mega auction.

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With a pool of top talent already in the lineup, including players like Shubman Gill and Rashid Khan, the Titans had to make tough calls to shape their roster strategically for the IPL 2025. But Gujarat Titans didn’t also utilize their Right to Match (RTM) card for Shami, allowing Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to acquire him for a hefty INR 10 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction.

Nehra admitted that the franchise thought they could use the Right to Match (RTM) card for the Indian pacer at auction, but the price was going high, and the value he got, they might not have offered, and that’s why they didn’t use the second facility to bring Shami back into the team.

The kind of price Shami went for: Ashish Nehra

Ashish Nehra told JioCinema after the auction at the Abadi Al Johar Arena in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: “Whatever he has done for GT and for India, I mean he was part of our retention (plans) also. But again, you see, retention is that kind of thing. Mohammed Shami, Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, and Sai Sudharsan—every team has so many options. Then we had RTM also, that maybe we can use RTM (at the auction) and take him, but the kind of price he went (for)...”

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At the mega auction, the Titans could have used the RTM to match SRH's bid for Shami, but they denied it, and Ashish Nehra said that sometimes things go out of the hands but insisted that the Indian pacer had a memorable time with the Titans and they couldn’t forget his contribution.

Nehra signed off by saying, “It doesn't matter whatever strategy you have; when it comes to open auction, your strategy is not going to be successful all the time. Definitely, whatever Mohammed Shami has done for GT and those three years will always be memorable.”

"Shami's contribution to #GT over the past 3 years has been truly remarkable," says Nehra 🗣️#JioCinemaSports #IPLAuctiononJioStar #TATAIPL #MohammedShami pic.twitter.com/mODTYJq3gp

— JioCinema (@JioCinema) November 26, 2024

Shami's IPL journey with GT in brief

Notably, Gujarat Titans had signed Mohammed Shami for INR 6.25 crore during the 2022 auction when they made their debut in the IPL. He had played a key role in GT’s title triumph under Hardik Pandya’s captaincy in the IPL 2022. In IPL 2023, Shami showcased his brilliance by winning the Purple Cap as the tournament's leading wicket-taker.

The Indian pacer delivered an exceptional performance, taking 28 wickets in 17 matches at an impressive average of 18.64 and maintaining an economy rate of 8.03. However, Shami was ruled out of the IPL 2024 due to an ankle injury that he sustained during the 2023 ODI World Cup.