IPL 2025: Abhishek Nayar Rejoins KKR after India Sacking
by Devesh Jaganath | by Cydias Aujard
Why Was Abhishek Nayar Axed From India By BCCI?
Ever since India’s home Test series loss to New Zealand and disappointing 3-1 series defeat to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the BCCI have been shaking things up in the national team, both on the field and behind the scenes.
Abhishek Nayar, who spent just eight months as an assistant coach with the Men in Blue, was one of the casualties in the backroom overhaul, with the BCCI opting to part ways with him just over a week ago.
Along with Nayar, fielding coach T Dilip and conditioning coach Soham Desai were also relieved of their duties with the team, with the latter expected to be replaced by South African Adrian Le Roux, who served as part of the team’s coaching staff during Sourav Ganguly’s tenure in the early 2000s.
The dismissals of Dilip and Desai were much less shocking than that of Nayar, given that the BCCI have recently announced a change to their Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), which now caps support staff’s terms with the national team to a maximum of three years.
Reports following Nayar’s sacking as India’s assistant coach suggested that his removal was expected after the BCCI brought Sitanshu Kotak into the team’s supporting staff as an additional batting coach for their upcoming tour to England.
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Nayar Makes Return to Kolkata Knight Riders
Nayar was a key figure of the Kolkata Knight Riders’ coaching setup before taking up the national team role and was one of the driving forces in starting up and managing KKR's Academy in Mumbai, which has been the team’s training base for several years.
After Gautam Gambhir took the reins at KKR, he and Nayar developed a close bond, and it was Gambhir who originally called up the 41-year-old to serve as an assistant coach to the national team, along with Ryan ten Doeschate.
Before the BCCI confirmed Nayar’s dismissal, reports had already revealed that he had returned to KKR and is expected to remain with the team until the end of the ongoing Indian Premier League season, though his exact role has yet to be confirmed.
Nayar’s return comes at a crucial time too for the Knight Riders, who are at risk of failing to qualify for the knockout rounds of the IPL, having only won three of their nine games to date, which sees them trail the Punjab Kings in fourth place by four points.
Kolkata’s next assignment comes in the form of the high-flying Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday, and you can take a look at our cricket experts' thoughts on that match using our in-depth IPL predictions.
