IPL 2025: Days after being fired as India’s assistant coach, Abhishek Nayar rejoins KKR

Abhishek Nayar, a former assistant coach for India, has rejoined the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and will be in the dugout for the reigning champions’ match against Gujarat Titans (GT) at Eden Gardens on Monday, April 21.

Abhishek Nayar was hired as the Men in Blue’s assistant coach when Gautam Gambhir was named head coach of the Indian squad last year. Both of them were instrumental behind the scenes when KKR won the Indian Premier League (IPL) championship the previous season.

Abhishek Nayar was the assistant coach, and Gambhir was the mentor of the Kolkata-based team.

Welcome back home, @abhisheknayar1 💜 pic.twitter.com/IwJQTnAWxa

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 19, 2025

Along with other employees, Gambhir and Nayar collaborated to help India win the Champions Trophy after a 12-year absence. Additionally, they have provided young players with T20I opportunity, and the decision has been successful. India’s T20 team, led by Suryakumar Yadav, is strong in any circumstances. But there have been some obvious flaws in Test cricket.

Last year, New Zealand dominated India in a home Test series. Additionally, the team captained by Rohit Sharma lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia Down Under in a five-match Test series, losing 1-3.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made the decision to fire three support staff members following the Test format disasters. In addition to Nayar, strength and conditioning coach Sohum Desai and fielding coach T Dilip were let go.

At different stages of the game, Nayar has assisted players like Rinku Singh, Dinesh Karthik, and Rohit Sharma in finding their form again. His arrival will be a welcome boost for the Knights, who are having trouble playing regularly in the 2025 Indian Premier League. They must give it their best because they have only won three of their seven games this season and lost four. From this point on, the playoff race grew more intense.