Ashish Nehra, the head coach of Gujarat Titans, explained why the franchise didn’t retain star pacer Mohammed Shami in the IPL 2025 mega auction. Over the last two years, Shami has been brilliant. Still, Gujarat Titans chose not to use their Right to Match (RTM) card, allowing SunRisers Hyderabad to take him for Rs 10 crore.

What Was GT’s Strategy?

Nehra disclosed that Shami was in their retention strategy, but the franchise had already retained several key players, and that limited their budget. Though Shami is an asset for the team, the management feels that Rs 10 crore is a little too high for a player who has been bought at Rs 6.25 crore in the 2022 auction. Nehra acknowledged Shami’s contribution to the team and praised his efforts, admitting that not all strategies go as planned.

No RTM For Mohammed Shami

“Whatever he has done for GT and for India, I mean he was part of our retention (plans) also. But again, you see retention is that kind of a thing,” said Nehra, a former India pacer. “Mohammed Shami, Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, Sai Sudharsan — every team has so many options. Then we had RTM also, that maybe we can use RTM (at the auction) and take him; but the kind of price he went (for),” Nehra told Jio Cinema.

“It doesn’t matter whatever strategy you have, when it comes to open auction, your strategy is not going to be successful all the time,” he added.

Ashish Nehra Praises Shami

“Definitely, whatever Mohammed Shami has done for GT and those three years will always be memorable.”

Mohammed Shami Roped In By SRH

The bidding for Shami started with Kolkata Knight Riders, then Chennai Super Kings, but it went rapidly when Lucknow Super Giants bid for him. The bidding kept going on till it reached 9.75 crore, then Lucknow withdrew and Hyderabad gave the final bid of 10 crore. Gujarat Titans decided not to use their RTM option, hence giving Hyderabad the first pick in the 2025 auction for Shami.