Former cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has questioned the BCCI's decision to sack Abhishek Nayar from his coaching position, especially considering that the senior players struggled with their batting in the longer format of the game.Â
In a recent YouTube video, Aakash Chopra pointed out that Abhishek Nayar seemed to be singled out for blame when the entire unit failed in the longer formats. He emphasized that Nayar should not bear the entire responsibility for their collective shortcomings.
New destination for Abhishek Nayar
Following the termination of Nayar's contract as assistant coach, he joined his home team, the Kolkata Knight Riders. Chopra also highlighted Rohit Sharma's Instagram story, in which Sharma expressed gratitude towards Abhishek Nayar for his support. This raised the question of why Nayar was dismissed if he had received such acknowledgment from a senior player like Rohit Sharma.
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Chopra noted that Rohit Sharma appreciated Nayar's contributions, suggesting that he must have had a positive impact on the team. Yet, despite this recognition, Nayar was removed from the coaching staff after less than a year.
Furthermore, Chopra addressed the issues of Virat Kohli's struggles with balls outside off-stump, where he edged more than five times in the 2024-2025 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and Rohit Sharma's form in longer formats. He questioned whether these failures were entirely Nayar's fault.Â
"I wonder if it was only Abhishek Nayar's mistake that Virat Kohli was playing deliveries outside off-stump, or Rohit Sharma wasn't scoring runs, and there were several batting collapses," he said.
He also compared the techniques of senior players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Shubman Gill during Rahul Dravid's tenure as coach, noting that their techniques were sound. He argued that it is unlikely for the players' techniques to have deteriorated significantly within just six months under Nayar’s coaching.
"It cannot happen that, six months ago, when they were under Rahul Dravid with Vikram Rathour as the batting coach, everyone's technique was fine, but suddenly, when Abhishek Nayar came, everyone's technique became bad. We're talking about Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Shubman Gill," he elaborated.Â
In conclusion, Aakash Chopra believes that Abhishek Nayar shouldn’t need to teach these experienced batters the basics, and he ultimately described the decision to sack Nayar as a wrong move by the BCCI.
