Former Indian coach appointed as Kolkata Knight Riders' new head coach ahead of IPL 2026

The three-time champions of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Kolkata Knight Riders, are set to appoint the former Indian coach, Abhishek Nayar, as their head coach for the forthcoming 2026 season. The reports of the Indian Express revealed that Nayar was informed of the decision last week, as a formal announcement is expected to be made soon.

Nayar had joined the franchise last year as support staff after being removed from the assistant coach’s role for the Indian team. The former all-rounder of the Mumbai side worked with KKR and was their main man behind the scenes, taking full care of the grooming players in the academy. The franchise has parted ways with its former head coach, Chandrakanth Pandi.

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Kolkata had recently zeroed in on Nayar’s name as his replacement. KKR experienced an ordinary IPL 2025 as they failed to qualify for the playoffs, managing five wins from their 14 league games. The 42-year-old’s name coming as the new head coach isn’t surprising after his previous work with the franchise and their players for the past years.

Kolkata Knight Riders appoint Abhishek Nayar as head coach ahead of IPL 2026

Earlier this year, Nayar took up the role of the head coach of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) franchise, UP Warriorz, and it will now be interesting to see if he continues to hold the role of the head coach of two different sides in two separate leagues of the game.

Is there any chance of Nayar somehow forcing Rohit Sharma in KKR, as the Nagpur-born also love playing at the Eden Gardens, while the franchise needs a captain after the poor show from their previous season’s leader, Ajinkya Rahane? There are discussions of the 2024 champions going after one of Ishan Kishan or KL Rahul to make them part of the side.

Even though Nayar had a successful stint with the franchises, he couldn’t repeat the same success with the national side. The batting group’s continued failures in Test cricket at home and away had put the spotlight on Nayar’s role, and after a review meeting, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) terminated the contract of its support staff.