Reports on Thursday (April 17) indicate that the BCCI have sacked India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, less than a year into his contract.
Abhishek Nayar reportedly sacked following BGT debacle
An Indian Express report stated that the BCCI have taken the call to remove Abhishek Nayar from his role as assistant coach of the senior India men's team. Nayar had joined the setup in July last year, alongside head coach Gautam Gambhir. The two had previously worked together at Kolkata Knight Riders, lifting the IPL title in 2024.
The news does come as a bit of a surprise, given how highly Nayar has been rated by multiple Indian players. Dinesh Karthik has spoken at length about Nayar's role in turning around his late career, while the likes of Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer and most recently KL Rahul have all reserved special praise for his efforts.
Nayar played three ODIs for India, all in 2009, but is a widely-respected player on the domestic circuit, having represented Mumbai and Puducherry, playing 103 first-class, 99 List A and 95 T20 matches in a 13-year career. He also played for four IPL franchises.
It remains unclear what exactly his role was on the BCCI coaching staff. Morne Morkel had been brought in as a bowling coach, T Dilip remained from the previous regime under Rahul Dravid, as the fielding coach, and Sitanshu Kotak was appointed as a batting coach following India's loss in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The Times of India reported a response from BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia: "I will give you a clear picture and details in the next 1-2 days."
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Reports: Two more coaches set to face the axe
It has also been reported that apart from Nayar, two other members of the coaching staff will see their tenure come to an end – T Dilip, the fielding coach and Soham Desai, strength and conditioning coach.
The Indian Express quoted a source as saying: "Nayar, Dilip and Soham have been informed about it last week. The Indian board will not have any new appointee as of now," but also reported the appointment of South African Adrian Le Roux, currently with IPL franchise Punjab Kings, as the new S&C coach.
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