'That mentality ... ': Sacked by BCCI, ex-India coach finally breaks silence on KKR return

Rohit Sharma, Abhishek Nair and Gautam Gambhir (BCCI Photo)

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NEW DELHI: Abhishek Nayar , recently relieved of his duties as assistant coach of the Indian cricket team by the BCCI , has rejoined the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL and taken on a mentorship role with the UP Warriorz in the Women's Premier League (WPL). Interestingly, news of his return to KKR surfaced even before his exit from the Indian team was officially confirmed.Nayar, who earned praise from KL Rahul for shaping his development as a white-ball batter, was part of Gautam Gambhir’s coaching setup during his stint with Team India.Speaking about his return to KKR, Nayar spoke fondly of the bond he shares with the franchise.“KKR is family to me. Everyone throws his weight way too much around the fact that it's family, but for me, I think it's family because the speed at which I came back [to the team] was a testament to the fact that that's where I belong in a lot of ways.”Reflecting on his dual appointments, Nayar called them exciting opportunities.“I've always looked at anything as opportunities, and this is an opportunity, which I'm very, very excited for in that regard,” he told PTI.Discussing his new role with UP Warriorz, Nayar outlined his vision of building a strong, winning mindset.“The opportunity is to create a culture where everyone understands that this franchise plays to win trophies, and try and bring that mentality into our ecosystem,” he said.The former India batter also commented on the remarkable progress in women’s cricket.“WPL will impact not only Indian cricket, but also Indian domestic cricket. It is very different from the first year in a WPL trial, where I felt many people were more touch players. Now you can see so much more power entering the game. You can see the girls diving around, throws are flat, throws are faster. There's enormous growth and that's not going to stop.”

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