IPL 2022: "He's street smart, knows what you need to succeed" - Sanjay Manjrekar hails Gujarat Titans coach Ashish Nehra

Sanjay Manjrekar has hailed head coach Ashish Nehra for Gujarat Titans' success in IPL 2022. He called the former fast-bowler "street smart" and stated that he knows how to overcome hardships, be a friend to his players, earn their trust and keep them in a good mental space.

All of which, according to the commentator, eventually helps the team in achieving its goals.

The Titans recently became the first team to officially qualify for the playoffs. With nine wins from 12 matches, they have been, by far, the best side of the tournament. With nail-biting wins and new emerging match-winners every week, Nehra and captain Hardik Pandya have brilliantly replied to their pre-season critics.

Asked to talk about Nehra's role in the success of the Gujarat Titans, on ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar heaped praise on the former India pacer.

"He's street smart, and knows what you need to succeed in cricket because his career has been like that. He didn't get anything easy and still had a really good career. If you become a friend to players, so they can confide in you and you keep them in a good mental space then the team's performance changes. It's not a zero to 20 change but still a 19 to 20 one."

Manjrekar also talked about Pandya's recent dip in form. From scoring five 30+ scores in the first six games, the all-rounder has gone on to score less than 25 runs in the next five.

He had picked up four wickets in the first five matches too but after a slight injury, the Baroda cricketer has refrained from bowling.

The former cricketer observed that Pandya's bowling and batting form are connected. This means that his taking a break from bowling has brought more pressure on him to succeed with the bat, which has had a negative impact.

Manjrekar, however, is confident that there will be a turnaround in the form of the Gujarat Titans' skipper soon.

"It's no coincidence that he was bowling when he was getting the runs so, perhaps, would have been feeling less pressure as a batter. As soon as his bowling got shut down, his batting got affected too. The second thing is we are seeing pacers better their economy rate because pitches have gotten slower. Fast-bowlers too are bowling slow so it grips. So when pitches get slow, it is not perfect for him and this could be the second reason. But he is so talented that he can score 70 off 30 balls in the very next game."

Pandya returning to bowl would not only be good news for the Gujarat Titans, who'll enjoy more balance, but also for Team India in the T20 World Cup year.

"Feels really nice to see him bowl" - Sanjay Manjrekar on Gujarat Titans' Mohammed Shami

Manjrekar also praised the Titans' top wicket-taker in the tournament so far, Mohammed Shami. He said the veteran pacer is proving that the "purity" of Test cricket bowling can be equally effective in the shortest format as well.

"It feels really nice to see him bowl. He has been the only bowler to use his purity, and not change his Test-cricket bowling [style]. It's the same Shami using the same seam position. It proves that basic swing and seam are difficult to hit in T20s. Shami has been a leader. He hasn't had such a consistent season yet. He had some question marks on him but has done well."

The Gujarat Titans will take on Chennai Super Kings on Sunday, starting at 3:30 PM IST at the Brabourne Stadium.