 "Abhishek Nayar worked with the Indian team for eight months before being released by the BCCI. Image: Reuters")
KL Rahul ’s recent turnaround with the bat hasn’t gone unnoticed. Rahul himself spoke about it after he scored a brilliant century in the second innings of the first Test match against England at Headingley. He credited former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar for his improvement in form across formats.
Abhishek Nayar has now revealed that he worked with KL Rahul after a request from former India captain Rohit Sharma . Nayar said Rohit felt that Rahul had more to offer, especially with his batting mindset. So he reached out to him and asked to help bring out a more aggressive version of Rahul.
Nayar worked with the Indian cricket team for eight months under head coach Gautam Gambhir. However, after India performed poorly in the Test series against New Zealand and Australia, Nayar was released from the team by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
“When I first picked up that role, I remember I had a conversation with Rohit, and he said that one of the things he was really keen on me doing was working with KL and bringing out a more aggressive outlook to how KL played the game, and bringing the best out of him. Because he believed strongly that KL would play a major role in the Champions Trophy, World Cup and everything going forward including the BGT [Border-Gavaskar Trophy] and the Tests in England,” Nayar told ESPNcricinfo.
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Nayar reveals how he convinced Rahul
Rahul was under a lot of pressure at the time. He had already been dropped from the T20 side, and his place in the Test team was not confirmed either. Rahul started the BGT 2024-25 with a fine century even though he continued to bat at a low average of 30 after that one knock. However, he finished as one of the leading run scorers for his position at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and helped India win the title after 12 years. He scored the winning runs in the final against New Zealand.
“I think that was sort of the inception [of our relationship. Australia was going to be critical for him because it was almost like what if you didn’t get runs there, then where is his career going? Because he was out of the T20 [squad]. Then this could also very well have been his last series,” Nayar added.
“I told him, ’listen, we’ve got 15 days to prepare before we go to Australia, and take those ten days there, we have got almost month to prepare - what do you want to do? How do you want to approach this? What is your mindset?’,” he added.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“He spoke about what he’s been doing and what worked for him in the past. And then I had a certain thought process, which was very different from his. Over hours and hours of conversation and trying to make him understand where I came from, eventually I got him to a place where he sort of trusted me to do certain things with him in regards to how he practises, in regards to trusting certain changes in his tactics, in regards to his stance, where he stands in the crease, what guard he takes,” Nayar said.
“A coach has to be lucky,” Nayar says. “How lucky that in his first game in Australia he got runs in the second innings and in the first also he got a start. That gave him a bit of believability. There are times when the glue just sticks. That was the moment the glue stuck. He really enjoyed that knock. He told me, listen, I feel like I am just watching and playing. It’s music to me now, playing the sport.”
However, Rahul is still struggling to shake off the ‘inconsistent’ tag in Test cricket. Despite his talent and experience, he averages only 34 in red-ball matches, a modest figure for a player of his calibre. Even though he impressed in the first Test against England, all eyes will be on him again in the second match to see if he can carry forward his good form.