Ex-IPL Champions Rope in Abhishek Nayar One Day After He Was Sacked From Team India Coaching Role

Abhishek Nayar had spent around 8 months as India's batting coach as a part of Gautam Gambhir's coaching staff before news emerged that he had been fired from his role with immediate effect. 

However, the former Mumbai all-rounder has not had to wait long before he got a new job in the world of cricket. 

Indeed, Nayar has rejoined the 2024 IPL champions the Kolkata Knight Riders - the same team that he worked for prior to getting the India gig. 

KKR confirmed as much in a social media post, welcoming Nayar ‘back home’. 

Nayar Remains a Coach in Demand

It is worth noting that, despite the fact that Nayar has never done any formal coaching in the domestic circuit, he has been a key part of the KKR set-up for years and has been praised for his work with many cricketers. 

He has done one-on-one work with many top players including Rohit Sharma, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer and Angkrish Raghuvanshi. 

He even worked with Dinesh Karthik and helped the former wicketkeeper-batsman hone his skills to become a finisher late in his career. 

Recently, he was praised by KL Rahul for helping him become a better white-ball batter. 

"Big shoutout to Abhishek Nayar. I've worked a lot with him ever since he's come into the Indian team," Rahul said. 

Big Boost for KKR?

The return of a member of the coaching staff should be a big boost to the KKR side, who have struggled so far this season amid a mixed run of form. 

KKR currently sit 6th in the IPL table and while they are not out of contention for a spot in the play-offs yet, they have shown inconsistency in their games. 

It was Nayar's work with KKR that got him the India gig and it could well provide his coaching career with a much-needed second wind too.