Abhishek Nayar returns to KKR in less than a week after getting sacked by BCCI

Abhishek Nayar returns to KKR in less than a week after getting sacked by BCCI (X/KKRiders)

Days after being sacked by the BCCI, Abhishek Nayar has made a return to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise, where he was part of the support staff with current India coach Gautam Gambhir. Nayar joins in the same capacity for the remainder of IPL 2025. Nayar had joined Gambhir's support staff in the India men's cricket team in July 2024.

Nayar's assistant coach contract with Team India was terminated by the BCCI. Along with him strength and conditioning coach Soham Desai and fielding coach T Dilip were also let go from their roles. The makeover comes as a result of India's recent and dismal performance in Tests, which saw them fail to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final 2023-25 despite leading the tally for a significant period. India had endured a clean sweep against New Zealand, following which they endured a 3-1 defeat against Australia in the prestigious Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under.

IPL 2025: How Shreyas Iyer reignited fire in Yuzvendra Chahal's belly after slow start

Meanwhile, Nayar was part of KKR's support staff, as suggested in the post reading: "Welcome back home" - which KKR posted confirming the news on social media. He was an integral part of KKR's coaching staff, and was associated with the franchise from 2018 to 2024. In his final season with KKR, the franchise lifted their third IPL title with Gambhir as the mentor.

Welcome back home, @abhisheknayar1 pic.twitter.com/IwJQTnAWxa
KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 19, 2025

Nayar doesn't have the experience of coaching a team in the domestic circuit, but he has worked on an individual basis with several stars, which include the likes of Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer and Angkrish Raghuvanshi.

Nayar joined the rest of KKR members on Saturday ahead of their clash against Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Eden Gardens, which will be played on Monday. The defending champions have been hit with inconsistency and are placed sixth on the points table with three wins from seven matches. The franchise also hit the lowest in the clash against Punjab Kings, which saw them bundle out for 95 in the chase of 112.