New Rift in Indian Cricket? Sacked Coach Abhishek Nayar 'Scapegoat' in Internal 'Turf War'

On Thursday (April 17), the BCCI took a surprising step by relieving three members of Team India’s coaching staff — Abhishek Nayar, T Dilip, and Soham Desai — all of whom were important parts of the support team under head coach Gautam Gambhir. The decision is said to be linked to India’s underwhelming performances in two recent Test series — one at home against New Zealand and the other away in Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2025 (BGT 2025). However, Abhishek Nayar’s exit has particularly raised eyebrows, as he joined the coaching staff alongside Gambhir and had only been in the role for less than a year. According to a fresh report, Nayar may have been a casualty of internal politics within the dressing room.