Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali has described former India fast bowler and Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra as the sharpest cricketing mind he has come across, ranking him ahead of several of the sport's most acclaimed tacticians, including former India captain MS Dhoni.
Moeen, who played alongside Dhoni at Chennai Super Kings and worked under a number of renowned captains and coaches during his career, said Nehra's ability to understand the game and anticipate every possible scenario set him apart.
The two shared the dressing room at Royal Challengers Bengaluru during the 2018 and 2019 IPL seasons, when Nehra served as the team's bowling coach. Moeen said those years gave him firsthand insight into Nehra's tactical knowledge and his ability to manage players effectively.
"For me, a cricketing brain is somebody who understands almost every situation in the game," Moeen said on the Beard Before Wicket podcast.
"Someone who has an answer, or at least a theory, for every situation. They talk about every aspect of the game—why a player is struggling, why another is succeeding, what should happen in a particular situation, and what could happen."
Moeen said Nehra's observations were always backed by evidence and experience rather than instinct alone.
"But he's got something," Moeen added. "And behind that something, there's either data or evidence. It's happened before, and this happened, and this is why this can happen.
"So the name I am going to give is Ashish Nehra. He is the coach of Gujarat. I had him at RCB for a couple of years. When it comes to cricket brain, this guy knows what he's talking about. He knows how to build a team environment, how to deal with players, coaches and people. An amazing, amazing cricket brain."
Nehra has steadily built a strong reputation as a coach since retiring from international cricket. Although his initial coaching stint with Royal Challengers Bengaluru did not produce immediate success, he took on a larger role when Gujarat Titans joined the Indian Premier League in 2022.
The former India pacer guided Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in their debut season, becoming the first Indian head coach to win the tournament. Under his leadership, the franchise has established itself as one of the league's most consistent sides, missing the playoffs only once in five seasons despite rarely being considered among the pre-tournament favourites.
