Cricket
IPL 2025: Can Abhishek Nayar Fix KKR? Sacked India Coach Returns as Ajinkya Rahane Eyes Revival
Former India and Mumbai cricketer Abhishek Nayar's coaching prowess has been praised by players like Karthik, Sharma, and Rahul. Sacked by BCCI, Nayar has rejoined KKR to uplift their performance. Players are hopeful his guidance will turn things around. Will big-hitting Powell finally get a chance?
India Men's Test Squad Training Session by Josh Chadwick | Getty Images
Abhishek Nayar's expertise as a coach came to the forefront when Dinesh Karthik smashed the last-ball six off Soumya Sarkar of Bangladesh in the Nidahas Trophy final 2018. The wicketkeeper-batter credited Nayar for reviving his game and instilling a champion mentality.
The former India and Mumbai all-rounder excelled with the Kolkata Knight Riders, winning the IPL title in 2024, before becoming an assistant coach for the Indian cricket team last year. The Board of Control for Cricket in India sacked Nayar last week after assessing India's 0-3 whitewash to New Zealand and 3-1 series loss in Australia.
It is still unclear as to why Nayar was the only casualty for the dismal performances. He shares a great rapport with senior batters, especially Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. Nonetheless, Nayar returned to KKR within 72 hours of his termination from the top job.
Nayar has a big task to lift KKR from the seventh spot in the league standings.
Sacked coach, a breath of fresh air for KKR
Captain Ajinkya Rahane, who has led India in Tests, is elated to reunite with his former Mumbai teammate. He hopes to nail the remaining must-win matches in partnership with Nayar.
"It's good to have Abhishek back in the setup. He has been an important part of this team, and he has been here for very long. As players, we are happy to see him," he told SportsBoom.com at a press interaction organised by the Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the Knight Golf event in Kolkata on Tuesday.
After the fifth loss of the season, to Gujarat Titans, KKR mentor Dwayne Bravo said the KKR batters were "low on confidence". Since Nayar has worked one-on-one with most of the batters, including youngsters like Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh and Angkrish Raghuvanshi, it could help the franchise turn the tide.
"He is passionate and he knows every player. His role has been important in this team. We all are really happy," added Rahane.
Rahul had credited Nayar for improving his white-ball game, while on Sunday, after smashing an unbeaten 76 off 45 against Chennai Super Kings, Rohit publicly thanked the sacked Indian coach for helping him overcome the slump. Left-handed batter Venkatesh Iyer and mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy often talk about Nayar's role in their careers.
Why still no Rovman Powell?
KKR bought big-hitting West Indian Rovman Powell for Rs 1.5 crore, but the right-hander is yet to play a match this season. Since Andre Russell had poor returns with the bat, can one expect Powell to replace him?
"As for Rovman, I am not going to say openly but the management has discussed about every player. It is about the combination, where we are playing and which team we are playing. Every player is important for us," said Rahane.
One of the coaches may need to take a bold call to bench the 36-year-old Russell, who has only 55 runs in six innings. He hasn't been bowling much either. On the other hand, the 31-year-old Powell has 4,833 T20 runs, including a hundred and 19 fifties at a strike-rate of 138.12. He is fit and raring to go.
Powell could perhaps make his season debut under Nayar's watchful eyes.
Wriddhaayan Bhattacharyya is a cricket journalist based in India who takes a keen interest in stories that unfold on and off the field. His expertise lies in news writing, features and profiles, interviews, stats, and numbers-driven stories. He has also worked as a podcaster and talk show host on cricket-related shows on YouTube and Spotify.