Former New Zealand fast bowler Simon Doull slammed Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Abhishek Nayar as his team’s dismal run continued in IPL 2026. KKR slumped to a five-wicket loss against Gujarat Titans – their fifth in six matches in this year’s competition. Nayar took over the job at KKR ahead of the new season following Chandrakant Pandit’s departure. He earlier served as the assistant coach at the franchise when Gautam Gambhir was the mentor. Doull said that Nayar’s record has been quite poor when it comes to franchise cricket and wondered what his strength is when it comes to coaching.
“Is his strength more individual coaching, rather than in a team environment?” Doull said on Cricbuzz.
“When you look at his numbers across teams he’s been in charge of, they’re pretty average. From an overall coaching, head coaching point of view, the teams he’s been in charge of, the numbers are pretty poor. He’s had some success. First five matches (in the IPL), no wins, 10th at the moment, finished last in the WPL, finished last in the CPL.”
Nayar was the head coach of UP Warriorz in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) and the Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). However, his record for both teams was quite disappointing.
Doull pointed out that many players have gone to Nayar for batting guidance and wondered whether he is more of a coach who works better on an individual level and struggles when it comes to a team environment.
“What you find is that certain individuals in India, without naming names, go to him from a batting coaching point of view because they think he has something to offer, and he’s had success from that point of view. So, he is a very good coach of individual players and can work one-on-one with them, but struggles in a team environment, whether it be the planning, the structure, or actually commanding a dressing room and commanding a team environment. Because there are a lot of other players or coaches like that. He’s not the lone ranger, but maybe that’s one of the issues,” he added.