BCCI Terminates Abhishek Nayar’s Contract as Assistant Coach

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has ended Abhishek Nayar’s tenure as the assistant coach for the Indian men’s national team. This decision arrives less than a year following his appointment in July of the previous year.

Nayar is the first significant change resulting from the BCCI’s in-depth assessment after India’s underwhelming showing in Test cricket at the close of last year.

This period included a 3-0 defeat on their home ground against New Zealand and a 3-1 series loss to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Following the Australia tour, a high-ranking review meeting was conducted by the BCCI in Mumbai. Attendees present encompassed India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir, Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma, selection committee head Ajit Agarkar, and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia.

A former Mumbai all-rounder and India international, having earned three ODI caps, Nayar was hand-picked by Gambhir for the assistant coach position.

The pair had previously collaborated at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), successfully leading the franchise to secure their third IPL title in 2024—their first triumph in a decade.

Gambhir was awarded a three-year contract lasting until the 2027 ODI World Cup; however, the specifics of Nayar’s agreement were never formally revealed.

Despite his limited experience in India’s domestic coaching scene, Nayar was recognized for his personalized coaching approach with several prominent Indian cricketers, including Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, and Angkrish Raghuvanshi.

KL Rahul has also credited Nayar as playing a role in his recent success with white-ball cricket, stating, “Big shoutout to Abhishek Nayar. I’ve worked a lot with him ever since he’s come into the Indian team.”

Speculation surrounding Nayar’s position surfaced in January when the BCCI named former Saurashtra batter Sitanshu Kotak as the batting coach prior to the white-ball home series against England.

Kotak, in conjunction with Nayar, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate, and fielding coach T Dilip, was part of the support staff during the recent Champions Trophy.