File photo of Abhishek Nayar and India head coach Gautam Gambhir© AFP
The Indian cricket team’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has been sacked just eight months into the assignment amid speculation of a rift with a high-profile member of the support staff even though Test debacles against New Zealand and Australia are being cited as the reason for his ouster. If board sources are to be believed, Nayar has already been intimated of the BCCI’s decision to part ways with him.
“While India’s recent Test debacles (against New Zealand and Australia) has led to the churning but there is also a feeling in the BCCI that Nayar became a scapegoat in the turf war between an important member of the support staff and a senior star player,” a BCCI source told PTI.
Fielding coach T Dilip, and Strength and Conditioning coach Soham Desai are also on their way out after completing more than three years in their respective positions.
The new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of the BCCI has capped the support staff’s tenure at three years.
It is learnt that India’s first ever Strength and Conditioning coach Adrian Le Roux is likely to return for a second stint. The South African is widely credited for ushering in a new fitness culture in the then Sourav Ganguly-led Indian team during the 2003 World Cup.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, when contacted by PTI, chose to sidestep the query.
“Certain things are being finalised. You will receive a press note from BCCI in some days,” Saikia said when asked about the development.
The 41-year-old Nayar, a former all-rounder who played three ODIs but was largely a domestic stalwart with 103 first-class games, didn’t respond to a text message sent by PTI.
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