Abhishek Nayar: failing the probation or a scapegoat after Australia debacle?

The aftermath of India’s debacle in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia has come back to haunt the national team’s set-up in the run-up to the five-Test series in England in June-July. Abhishek Nayar, one of the assistant coaches under Gautam Gambhir, is believed to have been sacked just eight months into the assignment along two other members of the support staff, though it’s Nayar’s removal which had been creating ripples.

The two other members on the exit route are fielding coach T. Dilip and physio Soham Desai, though their exit was on the cards as both had served the team for three years each, the limit set by the standard operating procedure of the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India). While no official confirmation about the decisions are available, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told National Herald over phone: ‘’A lot of news is in circulation. You will hear from the BCCI shortly.’’

Informed sources, however, say Nayar has already been intimated of the BCCI’s decision to part ways with him. The 41-year-old Mumbai allrounder, a major figure in domestic cricket who played three ODIs for India, had been a mentor of the Kolkata Knight Riders set-up for several years and played a key role in shaping the careers of several youngsters in the system.

It’s believed that the ICC Champions Trophy triumph in Dubai in March may have only temporarily brushed tensions within the Indian dressing room under the carpet. Nayar, who was supposed to have acted as a bridge between Gambhir and the senior players on his recruitment, has apparently failed in his probation period as a collective batting failure saw India being humiliated 3-1 in the series.  

He was part of the regime change in July 2024 when Gambhir took over from Rahul Dravid, ostensibly to help out as a batting coach, though Nayar’s credentials to handle the likes of a Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma or K.L. Rahul were always in doubt. However, if Nayar had in providing a solution to Kohli’s repetitive manner of dismissal or captain Rohit’s complete lack of confidence, so did a batter with a storied career like Gambhir himself.

A pertinent question in the air is if the former KKR mentor is being made the scapegoat while Gambhir enjoys all the immunity. It was under the former Indian opener’s regime that India slumped to a 3-0 whitewash against Mitchell Santner & Co on spinning wickets at home, a decision which Gambhir was very much party to just on the eve of the tour Down Under.

It is learnt that with the BCCI co-opting Saurashtra veteran Sitangshu Kotak as batting coach, there will be no replacement man-for-man for Nayar. Ryan Ten Doeschate, the former Dutch international and now an assistant coach, will fill in as a fielding coach in place of T. Dilip while veteran strength and conditioning coach Adrian Le Roux is expected to step in again in place of Desai.

The South African, credited for ushering in a fitness culture in the then Sourav Ganguly-led Indian team during the 2003 World Cup, has subsequently been part of the IPL ecosystem with teams like Kolkata Knight Riders and now Punjab Kings.

The writing was on the wall when the 52-year-old Kotak, who was long associated with the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and had been a coach of the India A side, was added as a batting coach to the team last January ahead of the white ball series at home against England.

Clearly, the management does not want a repeat of the Australia tour fiasco, when the Indian dressing room looked a divided house with unfavourable results, a stalwart like Ravi Ashwin's retirement midway through the series, and dressing-room leaks. Nayar, an introvert who was wooed into the dressing room from his IPL assignment, could well be in demand in franchise cricket soon. ‘’VenkyMysore sir please bring him back plz,’’ posted a KKR fan on his X handle.

Watch this space as an interesting sideshow unfolds ahead of the England tour.