Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) abysmal run in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season continued as they suffered a five-wicket defeat at the hands of Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad on Friday (April 17).
The Ajinkya Rahana-led side is currently languishing at the bottom of the table after six games with zero wins and only one point due to a rain-abandoned match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Eden Gardens.
Reflecting on their dismal campaign, former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull slammed KKR head coach Abhishek Nayar, citing that latter’s record has been quite poor when it comes to franchise cricket and wondered what his strength is when it comes to coaching.
Nayar was appointed into the role ahead of the 2026 edition, taking over from Chandrakant Pandit following a revamp after a disappointing 2025 season. He earlier acted as KKR’s assistant coach when Gautam Gambhir was the mentor.
"Is his strength more individual coaching, rather than in a team environment?" Doull said while speaking 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 served as 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, he failed to deliver positive result for both teams.
Doull acknowledged that many players in India value Nayar’s expertise for one-on-one batting guidance and that he has had success in this area. However, he raised questions about Nayar's effectiveness in 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 remarked.
Kolkata Knight Riders will look to turn things around when they face Rajasthan Royals at the Eden Gardens on Sunday (April 19).
