Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday (October 30) appointed Abhishek Nayar as their new head coach going into IPL 2026. Nayar, who previously worked as batting coach for the franchise under Gautam Gambhir, will replace Chandrakant Pandit at the helm.
This is Nayar's second major coaching appointment in 2025 after taking over as the head coach UP Warriorz in the Women's Premier League earlier in the year. The Mumbai veteran has been a big name in domestic cricket, both as player and mentor. Even when he hasn't been working officially as a batting coach, Nayar has guided several Indian players including seniors like Rohit Sharma.
KKR CEO Venky Mysore sounded upbeat about Nayar's appointment and hopes that the 42-year-old can take the franchise's legacy to the next level with his prowess. Nayar was part of KKR's coaching setup from 2018 t0 2024 with the title-winning season under Gambhir being his final year before he moved to national duties for a while.
"Abhishek has been a vital part of the Knight Riders setup since 2018, shaping our players both on and off the field," said Mysore.
"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 it's next chapter."
While Nayar takes over as head coach, Dwayne Bravo continues in his role as mentor while KKR is looking for an ideal candidate to become the bowling coach after Bharat Arun's exit earlier this year.