The BCCI has ended the contract of Abhishek Nayar, less than a year since he was hired as the assistant coach of the India men’s national team.
Exit of Abhishek Nayar After Test Cricket Review
Last July’s appointee Nayar became the first major victim of the review conducted by the BCCI to evaluate India’s dismal record in Test cricket towards the latter part of last year, which started with the 3-0 home series loss against New Zealand and was followed by the 3-1 series loss in Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Shortly after India’s return from Australia, the BCCI held a comprehensive review meeting in consultation with India head coach Gautam Gambhir. Also attending that first review meeting held in Mumbai were India Test and ODI skipper Rohit Sharma, selectors’ chairman Ajit Agarkar, and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia.
Gambhir’s Role in Appointment of Abhishek Nayar
Nayar, an accomplished allrounder with Mumbai and three-time ODI player for India, was specifically chosen by Gambhir for the role after the latter was made head coach. While Gambhir was offered a three-year contract – until the 2027 ODI World Cup – Nayar’s stay could not be determined.
Gambhir and Nayar collaborated for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2024 and were the architects of the franchise winning their third IPL championship, the first in a decade. Though Nayar has not coached in the domestic league, he has been one-on-one coach to various international and uncapped Indian cricketers such as Rohit, Dinesh Karthik, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer and Angkrish Raghuvanshi.
KL Rahul’s Praise for Abhishek Nayar
KL Rahul also recently attributed his white-ball success to Nayar, stating, “Big shoutout to Abhishek Nayar. I’ve worked a lot with him ever since he’s come into the Indian team.”
Questions were raised about Nayar’s future towards the end of January when the BCCI appointed former Saurashtra batsman Sitanshu Kotak as batting coach for the upcoming white-ball home series against England. Kotak and Nayar, along with assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate and fielding coach T Dilip, had also gone to the Champions Trophy as part of Gambhir’s support staff.
Adrian Le Roux to Join as Trainer
Adrian Le Roux, who worked with the India men’s team as a trainer for a year in the early 2000s, is set to join in the same position. It is understood that Le Roux, who is currently with Punjab Kings in the IPL, has accepted the offer the BCCI made recently. Le Roux is set to replace Soham Desai, who has been the strength and conditioning coach for India since 2019.
After his stint as consultant for India during the tour of South Africa in 2001-02, Le Roux signed a one-year contract to be trainer for India, and that continued up to the World Cup in 2003. He then rejected the one-year extension offered by the BCCI, terming it “a personal decision” to remain in South Africa ahead of joining the South Africa men’s team as a trainer. Le Roux also teamed up with Andrew Leipus, who was India’s physiotherapist at that time, and the two of them made a huge impact on the fitness level of players.
