Gujarat Titans coach Ashish Nehra He is not worried about the criticism regarding the poor performance of his team's middle order in the 2025 season.
Gujarat Titans made it to the Eliminator 2025 with a star-studded top three of captain Shubman Gill, Sai Sudarshan and England's Jos Buttler, who scored 1947 runs in 15 matches. The trio were among the top 10 highest run-scorers last season, with Sudarshan claiming the Orange Cap.
Nehra believes that the main reason the Titans had such a strong season was the contributions of the top-three, and with them facing most of the overs, leaving very few balls for the middle order.
“First of all, as a coach, I don't think the middle order was collapsing. Yes, the top three scored heavily and often batted for 17-18 overs, which is one of the main reasons why the team was in such a strong position after 13-14 matches,” Nehra said in a press conference.
“It was a disappointing end to the tournament, no doubt, but when your top three are scoring so many runs, the middle order naturally faces a lot less balls, and that's not an easy role. There may have been one or two occasions in 14 games when the No. 5 or 6 could have finished the match and didn't, but that's part of the game. Be it Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan or Sherfane Rutherford, they did their job and that's why we were there.” He further said.
Nehra further said that for a new batsman, coming in to bat in the 18th over against the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Joffra Archer is a tough prospect in itself.
“It is always easy to talk about finishers, but when one comes in the 18th over and needs 35 runs from two balls, especially when Jasprit Bumrah or Jofra Archer are bowling, it is not easy,” Nehra said.
The Titans won nine of their first 123 matches in 2025. Losses in the last two meant they finished third on the points table in 2025, placing them in an eliminator against Mumbai Indians, whom they failed to defeat. They will begin their 2026 campaign against Punjab Kings on March 31 at the New PCA Stadium, Mullanpur.
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