Abhishek Nayar to manage two franchises? Former India support staff named KKR head coach ahead of IPL 2026 - Report

Three-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Kolkata Knight Riders are set to hand over the overall reins of the franchise to Abhishek Nayar ahead of the upcoming season. The former Mumbai all-rounder will thus replace Chandrakant Pandit, who was released from his role of head coach, earlier this year following a an underwhelming show in IPL 2025.

The development came in nearly two months after Nayar was appointed as the head coach of Women's Premier League (WPL) franchise UP Warriorz. According to an Indian Express report, Nayar has been told about his new role at KKR last week and a formal announcement is expected soon.

Nayar's announced as head coach didn't look surprising as the 42-year-old has been with the franchise for the seven to eight years. Following his retirement from cricket, Nayar joined KKR in 2018 and was a part of their backroom staff till 2024. In all these years, Nayar was instrumental in several domestic players including the likes of Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Varun Chakravarthy and many more.

However, with Gautam Gambhir appointed as the head coach of India in 2024, the two-time IPL-winning captain took Nayar along with him in the national team as an assistant coach. However, Nayar's India stint was shortlived as the Indian batters cut a sorry figure against New Zealand at home and Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under.

Nayar rejoined the KKR backroom staff in the middle of IPL 2025, after having his India contract terminated by the BCCI. Although Nayar hasn't had any coaching experience at the domestic level, but he is known more as a scout with an ability to draw elite performances from players.

In recent times, Nayar grabbed headlines for working with close friend Rohit Sharma and helped the former India captain lose more than 10 kgs and bring back his form. On Saturday, Rohit scored his 33rd hundred in ODIs, in the final game against Australia in Sydney. KL Rahul was also helped by Nayar.

Will Abhishek Nayar manage two teams?

With the UP Warriorz job also at hand, it remains to be seen whether Nayara will do both the jobs simultaneously. In previous seasons, ahead of an IPL season, Nayar was tasked to prepare the domestic recruits. According to reports, the WPL will likely to be held in January. With the IPL starting in March, Nayar might hold both the positions, provided there is no question of conflict of interest.