IPL 2025: Abhishek Nayar rejoins KKR without official BCCI announcement

Abhishek Nayar has rejoined the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) support staff for the IPL 2025 season, just days after the BCCI terminated his role as assistant coach of the Indian men’s national team. The former Indian assistant coach was seen in the KKR dug out during their home game agianst Gujarat Titans.  With no official announcement from BCCI about Nayar, his presence in the KKR dugout was somewhat of a surprise to people as well. Nayar's contract with BCCi is continuing until May 31 and it wasn't expected that he will be able to join any IPL team till that time. 

  Nayar reunited with KKR after BCCI exit  

Nayar, who had previously served as part of KKR’s backroom staff from 2018 to 2024, now returns for a fresh stint with the franchise. In July 2024, he was appointed as Gautam Gambhir’s assistant in the Indian setup, but his tenure was cut short following a performance review after India's poor Test form, which included a 0-3 home loss to New Zealand and a 1-3 defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He was the first key member of the coaching group to be let go after the review.

 

Despite not having held formal coaching roles in the domestic circuit, Nayar is well regarded for his one-on-one mentorship with several prominent players including Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, and Angkrish Raghuvanshi.

 

The current KKR support team features Chandrakant Pandit as head coach, Dwayne Bravo as mentor, B Arun as bowling coach, Ottis Gibson as assistant coach, and Carl Crowe overseeing spin bowling. Nayar joined the squad in Kolkata on Saturday ahead of their home clash against Gujarat Titans. KKR, the defending champions, currently sit sixth on the points table with three wins and four losses from seven matches.