Is THIS why BCCI sacked Team India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar?

 ‘Downsizing’ was the reason cited for the removal of Team India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, fielding coach T. Dilip, and strength and conditioning coach Soham Desai, by the BCCI.

 

Adrian Le Roux, who was India’s first ever strength and conditioning coach – in the Sourav Ganguly era – is set to return for a second stint, while current batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, bowling coach Morne Morkel and assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate will continue. Ten Doeschate will double up as the fielding coach.

 

India’s Test debacles against New Zealand and Australia are being cited as the reasons for the changes. And with the Test series against England coming up in June-July, BCCI wants the support staff to sport a leaner look.

 

Did Abhishek Nayar have differences with senior players, Gambhir?

 

The 41-year-old Nayar has been instrumental in improving the game of several players such as Dinesh Karthik, KL Rahul, Varun Chakaravarthy and Shreyas Iyer.

 

A former all-rounder who played three ODIs and a stalwart in Mumbai cricket with 103 First Class matches, Nayar took over as the assistant coach only eight months ago. Though head coach Gautam Gambhir wanted him as the batting coach and ten Doeschate as the assistant coach, BCCI made Nayar too an assistant coach, reportedly to act as a bridge between captain Rohit Sharma and Gambhir.

 

Gambhir had worked with Nayar at Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. However, the partnership between the two did not click this time around, with Gambhir bringing in Kotak as the batting coach thus diluting Nayar’s role further.

 

Reports suggest that Nayar had fallen out with a high-profile member of the support staff. Post the tour of Australia, at the BCCI review meeting attended by top officials of the board, including secretary Devajit Saikia and vice-president Rajeev Shukla, “a powerful member of the support staff expressed his apprehensions about Nayar's presence and said how him being in the dressing room is proving to be counter-productive”, a BCCI source told PTI.

 

"While the BCCI didn't act immediately but they brought in Kotak, the former Saurashtra run-accumulator. It was a way of side-lining Nayar during the Champions Trophy," the source added. Reports also suggest that Nayar did not get along well with some senior players in the team. 

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