Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) clinched their third Indian Premier League (IPL) title last month. The Shreyas Iyer-led side was dominant right through the IPL 2024 season, finishing the league stage at the top with 9 wins from 14 matches.
In Qualifier 1 and the final, KKR hammered Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by eight wickets to lift the coveted IPL trophy.
One of the most significant roles in KKR’s triumph was played by their assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, whose contribution was also acknowledged Varun Chakravarthy and Venkatesh Iyer on the night of the title clash.
Nayar is also credited with playing a key role in Rohit Sharma's return into the Indian team after 2011 World Cup snub. In the past, Dinesh Karthik also talked about Nayar’s part in his sensational comeback to the national side.
Recently, a clip went viral on social media, where Abhishek Nayar was left baffled by a question during an interview with YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia.
The anchor asked whether players are advised against having sex before a game since the common perception is that it ruins the performance of athletes.
In reply, Nayar said while avoiding sex has worked for few players, it hasn't quite for most, suggesting that it is more of an individual choice.
Here is how the conversation panned out:
Anchor: “Final topic, sex in cricket? Is it a factor in the lives of players?”
Nayar: “Are you asking this in a positive way or a negative way? You have asked a very open-ended question. It will happen. Which human being will survive without it? But is it good or bad? Is that your question? Or is your question 'kitna hota hai?'”
Anchor: “I want to answer this, but I want to see what you answer is with me telling.”
Nayar: “It's normal for anyone to do it. It's different for everybody. There is this constant fight and conundrum in every cricketer's mind. Some people will like it, some will abstain. Some cricketers do believe that their power and focus tend to improve if they don't have sex, while others follow that and end up concluding that nothing has changed for them. So this is a very individual thing. There is no thumb rule. The fact is, at different phases in life, different things work. No one is desperate, but sometimes there is so much pressure that you want to chill.”
