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3 possible changes at KKR after Abhishek Nayar's appointment as new head coach for IPL 2026

Abhinav Tyagi

Abhishek Nayar and Chandu Pandit - (Source: AFP)Abhishek Nayar and Chandu Pandit - (Source: AFP)

On Thursday, October 30, Kolkata Knight Riders officially unveiled Abhishek Nayar as their new head coach for IPL 2026. Nayar, who previously served as the assistant coach since 2018, has earned a promotion and will be the top guy at the Knight Riders starting from the next edition.

Nayar will replace Chandrakanth Pandit, who guided KKR to the third IPL title. Meanwhile, this article will shed light on three changes that are possible at KKR under Abhishek Nayar's tenure.

1. Roping in KL Rahul

KL Rahul and Abhishek Nayar share a great bond, and their friendship goes a long way back. Notably, Rahul recently credited Abhishek Nayar for helping him rediscover the fun in cricket when he was at his low.

“I’ve worked really hard on my white-ball game in the last year or so. Big shoutout to Abhishek Nayar. I’ve worked a lot with him ever since he came into the Indian team. We’ve spent hours and hours together talking about my white-ball game and how I can be better," remarked KL Rahul.

Thus, Nayar's good relationship with KL Rahul can help KKR rope in the DC star in their team for IPL 2026. Notably, there are already rumours. About KKR being interested in Rahul for the next edition, and Nayar's appointment can help accelerate that process.

2. Backing India's core

At present, KKR lack a genuine Indian core. If we look at the batting department, then there is no reliable batter than Ajinkya Rahane. Further, in the middle-order, Rinku Singh is there, but he is not getting any help because the rest of the players are not getting their chances.

Notably, Luvnith Sisodia owned the pre-tournament practice matches, but was not presented a solitary opportunity to display his talent. Thus, Nayar is expected to back such players in the upcoming season and will back the young Indian talents, who can turn out to do what Aniket Verma did for SRH, Vignesh Puthur for MI. 

3. Fix the basic errors

KKR finished eighth on the table in IPL 2025 with just five wins in the entire tournament. KKR did even the simplest of things wrong, and Nayar would look to rectify those issues first.

Notably, Venkatesh Iyer was bought for 23.75 crores by KKR for his all-around abilities. However, because of his failure with the bat, Iyer was not even given the ball to roll his arms. 

Also, Andre Russell was not given the ball until the very end of the tournament, and there was a mystery around several decisions taken by KKR. Thus, Abhishek Nayar will fix these changes at the earliest once he takes charge as head coach.