"We will try to do what we did the last time" - Gujarat Titans coach Ashish Nehra ahead of IPL 2023

Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra has underlined his intention to win back-to-back titles ahead of the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League. The former Indian new-ball bowler understands the level of competitiveness with more teams and players to choose from, but is raring to go all the way again.

With Hardik Pandya as captain and Nehra as coach, the Titans clinched the title in their debut season. The franchise's batting unit, consisting of Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha, Pandya, David Miller, and Rahul Tewatia, was one of the significant reasons behind their victory.

They beat the Rajasthan Royals in Ahmedabad by eight wickets in the final.

Speaking to Sportstar, Nehra said the Titans want to replicate the exploits of IPL 2022 and that he relishes the competitiveness of the tournament. The 43-year-old acknowledged that teams fight tooth and nail to win the competition every year, saying:

"If you did not win the first season, you would still want to win a tournament every year. As a team, nobody is here to participate, everybody is here to win.

"That’s the beauty of not just the IPL, but the sport overall. We will try to do what we did the last time but in the end, we also need to accept there will be one winner.

"With more teams, IPL is a difficult tournament and here the margin between a defeat and a victory is very less. There have been times when teams have not even qualified despite doing well. And that competitiveness makes this sport great."

Ahead of the mini-auction set to take place on December 23rd in Kochi, the defending champions have released six players, four of whom are overseas. They let go of Dominic Drakes, Jason Roy, and Gurkeerat Singh, while Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Lockie Ferguson were traded to the Kolkata Knight Riders.

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We are talking about a squad of 22-23 players; you make changes based on the team's needs: Ashish Nehra

Gujarat Titans celebrate their IPL 2022 success. (Credits: Twitter)

Ashish Nehra said they decided to retain the core and that they now need to plan how to fill the limited slots available in the side. He added:

"We are talking about a squad of 22 or 23 players, and you make changes keeping the needs of the team in mind. In these smaller auctions, you bring in players according to your requirements. We are no different.

"We have not released too many players and even for domestic players, only 2-3 slots are available. We need to see who all are available in the auction and plan accordingly."

Nehra added:

"In the auction, you are not the only team, there are nine others, so it all depends on the purse, who’s available and also the strategy."

A total of 991 players have registered for the auction this time, of which 277 are foreign and 714 are Indian.