Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra said the team’s middle order is not a problem heading into the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler did most of the scoring for the 2022 champions last season, amassing 1,947 runs in 15 matches.
Despite their performances, the Titans won nine of their first 12 games and looked set to finish top of the table. However, defeats in their last two league matches pushed them out of the top two and their campaign eventually ended with a loss to Mumbai Indians in the Eliminator.
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Nehra dismissed concerns about the middle order, saying it was unfair to call it a weakness when the top three often batted deep into the innings. He added that finishers had limited options and often faced tough roles in the late games.
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THE MIDDLE ORDER HAS NOT COLLAPSED
“Firstly, as a coach, I don’t feel that the middle order is collapsing. Yes, the top three have been scoring heavily and often batting past 17-18, which is one of the main reasons why the team was in such a strong position after 13-14 games,” Nehra said at a press conference.
“No doubt it was a disappointing end to the tournament, but when your top three score so many runs, the middle order naturally faces very few deliveries and that’s not an easy role. In 14 games, there might have been one or two instances where No. 5 or 6 could have finished the game and they didn’t, but that’s part of the game. Whether it was Tewanetia Khanford Rahul, Sherfhan or Sherfha, that’s why we were where we were.” said Nehra.
“It’s always easy to talk about finishers, but it’s not easy when someone walks into the 18th over and needs 35 off two, especially if Jasprit Bumrah or Jofra Archer are playing,” Nehra added.
In a mini-auction last December, the Titans strengthened their squad by signing Jason Holder (Rs 7 crore), Tom Banton (Rs 2 crore), Ashok Sharma (R90 crore), Luke Wood (R75 crore) and Prithviraj Yarra (R30 crore). However, Prithviraj has since been ruled out due to injury, with Gujarat Titans bringing in left-arm pacer Kulwant Khejroliya as a similar replacement.
The Titans will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against Shreyas Iyer’s Kings of Punjab on March 31 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh.
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Issued by:
sabyasachi chowdhury
Published on:
26 March 2026 20:56 IST
