Journey from player to coaches :Kumar Sangakarra and Ashish Nehra

A strong team does not just require players' contribution but also the supporting staff. For the two teams, the two essential pillars of their success are Kumar Sangakkara for Rajasthan Royals and Ashish Nehra for Gujarat Titans. The coaches have been doing their job pretty well, from moulding the youngsters to ameliorating the old ones. But the current 'Gurus' were once players in the league, just like others. Their journey from a player to becoming a coach in the biggest T20 league has been notable.

Perfect minds behind perfect game plans

A balanced team is an essential factor for any team's performance. Selecting an utterly balanced team is a challenging task for any team management. Still, Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans have been doing this job quite precisely with the help of their experienced coaches, Kumar Sangakkara and Ashish Nehra. Their game plans against every opponent have been quite impressive and impactful as well. Their perfect blend of raging young talents and composed players has helped the two teams dominate the league.

Kumar Sangakkara: Journey of RR's super brain!

The former Sri Lankan captain, Kumar Sangakkara, made his IPL debut for Kings XI Punjab in 2008, the first edition of IPL and thus played three seasons for the same franchise till 2010. He also led the team in his final season with the franchise in 2010. Later, the wicketkeeper batter shifted to Deccan Chargers for the editions of 2011-2012. In his 71 IPL innings, he scored a total of 1687 runs with an appreciable strike rate of 121.2 and an average of 25.90. The left-handed batter ended his career with Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013, being his final season of participation. While everyone thought his journey in IPL had terminated, Sangakkara, with his excellent sense of cricket, was selected as the head coach for Rajasthan Royals in the 2022 edition of IPL. He is one of the critical catalysts for the team's off-field transformation and hopes for an exciting season. The results of his excellent skills and knowledge were seen in the first four games as the team dominated the opponents pretty well.

Ashish Nehra: A coach who prefers pen and paper over the laptop!

Ashish Nehra made his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians in the very first edition of IPL in 2008. Although great with his bowling, he was not a regular bowler for the team. But Ashish's brilliance kept on flourishing with time. Later, the left-arm pacer joined CSK in 2014 and significantly impacted the team with his sensational bowling. For his excellent performance display for CSK in 2014 and 2015, Ashish Nehra was also named in the Cricinfo CLT20. After his role as a player ended, the cricketer inside him kept him alive in the league as Nehra was appointed as Royal Challengers Bangalore's bowling coach in 2018. Nehra continued with his position even in the 2019 edition of the league and nourished RCB's bowling line-up for two years. Later, in 2022, Nehra was given a big responsibility by the newly formed franchise Gujarat Titans as their head coach despite the presence of World Cup-winning Coach Garry Kirsten. This move of the franchise is considered to be a gamble by many, although not many can question the decision now. Nehra evidently is not a fan of technology, which is seen several times during the matches. While all other team's management and analysts are busy using modern gadgets such as laptops and mobile phones, Ashish Nehra is seen with just a paper and a pen, making the team's analysis! Nehra's success with Gujarat Titans proves that even without relying on technology and getting too much into analysis, one can deliver the goods. 

Both the great personalities have been completely flawless as a player and a coach. Their journey from an ordinary player to coaches has been quite impressive and inspirational as well. The two Gurus know their game pretty well, and we can surely expect the two teams to do miracles in the season under the guidance of these two.