Abhishek Nayar has rejoined Kolkata Knight Riders’ support staff in the middle of the IPL 2025 season. The development comes the day after the BCCI decided not to renew his contract as an assistant coach of the national team.
BCCI has chosen not to continue with several support staff members, including Nayar who served as deputy to head coach Gautam Gambhir for nearly 10 months.
Nayar has played a key role in the development of several KKR stars during his previous tenure with the team.
Young talents like Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, and Varun Chakravarthy flourished under his guidance, earning praise for both their technique and temperament- hallmarks of Abhishek Nayar’s mentorship style.
Alongside hime, Fielding coach T Dilip and strength and conditioning trainer Soham Desai have also been relieved of their duties.
“Abhishek Nayar has rejoined our support staff. He is likely to be at training at Eden today,” a franchise statement said on April 19.
As previously reported, the batting group’s continued failures in Test Cricket at home and abroad had put the spotlight on Nayar’s role.
Welcome back home, @abhisheknayar1 💜 pic.twitter.com/IwJQTnAWxa
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 19, 2025
It is understood that during the review meeting conducted soon after the Australia tour, Abhishek Nayar’s role was under scrutiny. According to reports, BCCI official personally called each of the three support staff members to inform them that their contracts would not be renewed.
The two coaches were specifically told that while the board was satisfied with their performance, it had decided to trim the size of the support staff, making contract renewals unfeasible.
Kolkata Knight Riders has three wins out of seven games in the ongoing season and secured 6th position in the IPL 2025 Points table.
Kolkata Knight Riders will play their next match against Gujarat Titans on April 21 at Eden Gardens.
