Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali rates Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra very highly and calls him the ‘greatest cricket brain’ he has come across in his long career. When Ali played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League, Nehra was the bowling coach of the side. That’s where the Englishman learned that the former India pacer was an extraordinary strategist.
Ali praising Nehra also means that he rates him higher than Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The batting allrounder also played for Chennai Super Kings for a few years, so he knows what MSD is like. While there is an overwhelming majority, not just nationally but internationally, that believes MSD is the best cricket brain in recent years, having won three ICC titles and five IPL titles as captain, Ali is on Nehra’s side.
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“For me, a cricketing brain is somebody who knows almost every situation of the game,” Moeen said on the Beard Before Wicket podcast.
“Someone who’s got an answer, or a theory, for every situation. They talk about all aspects. Why somebody is not that good, why somebody is good, what should happen in this situation, what could happen.
“But he’s got something. And behind that something, there’s either data or evidence. It’s happened before, and this happened, and this is why this can happen.
“So the name I am going to give is Ashish Nehra. He is the coach of Gujarat. I had him at RCB for a couple of years. When it comes to cricket brain, this guy knows what he’s talking about. Knows how to get a team environment going, knows how to deal with people, players and coaches. Amazing, amazing cricket brain,” he added.
Three finals in five years under Ashish Nehra
Nehra, in his first year with GT as head coach, also the first season for the franchise in the IPL, helped the team, under Hardik Pandya, lift the trophy. The Gujarat-based team has since played two more finals. So, three finals in five seasons is a great reflection on Nehra’s nous as a cricket coach. Under him, the team is consistent for sure, having missed the play-offs just once in five years. That’s extraordinary consistency. It should not come as a surprise that Ali, who recently featured in the Vitality Blast, has put Nehra ahead of MSD and the rest.