After becoming the Head Coach of Kolkata Knight Riders Academy in 2018, he has now been selected as the Head Coach of Knight Riders in 2025. He has been made the Head Coach in place of Chandarkant Pandit. Out of the 3 seasons in which Chandarkant coached, the performance of 2 seasons was the worst, and the 2024 season was the highlight of his coaching career. But the 2025 season was the worst of his 3 seasons, in which he won 5 of 14 matches, lost 7, and the remaining 2 were “No Result”.
Before being appointed head coach of Kolkata, he was the assistant coach of the Indian Men’s Cricket Team. His contract was terminated in April 2025 following the Indian team’s poor performance in the BGT. Nayar was then appointed head coach of the UP Warriors in the Women’s Premier League in July 2025.
Before being appointed head coach of the Knight Riders, he gained coaching experience from various places. Indian legend and current Indian Team Head Coach Gautam Gambhir also played a role in making Nayar a part of his coaching team as an assistant coach in the Indian team. Apart from this, he has also played the role of an assistant coach in many other teams.
Abhishek Nayar’s Timeline as a Coach:
| Years | Team | Role |
| 2018 | KKR Academy | Head Coach |
| 2019-21 | KKR | Assistant Coach |
| 2020-21 | TKR | Head Coach |
| 2022-24 | KKR | Assistant Coach |
| July 2024-April 2025 | Men’s Indian Cricket Team | Assistant Coach |
| July 2025-Present | UP Warriorz | Head Coach |
| October 2025-Present | KKR | Head Coach |
After choosing Abhishek as Head Coach, team owner Venky said that “Abhishek has been a vital part of the Knight Riders setup since 2018, shaping our players both on and off the field. His understanding of the game and connection with players have been key to our growth. We’re thrilled to see him take over as Head Coach and lead KKR into its next chapter.”
Abhishek has mentored many popular players in his coaching career like Rinku Singh, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Harshit Arora, Suyash Sharma, Shivam Mavi, Ankul Roy, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Vaibhav Arora, and Shubhman Gill.
Nair is known for preparing players mentally and tactically, so that the players can give their best.
Conclusion:
As we know, Nayar has been with KKR since 2018, so he knows the ins and outs of the team. Now, it remains to be seen how the Kolkata Knight Riders fare in the IPL 2026 season.
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