Mumbai all-rounder Abhishek Nayar appointed lead coach and mentor of Kolkata Knight Riders academy

Mumbai: Seasoned Mumbai all-rounder Abhishek Nayar has been appointed as the lead coach and mentor of the KKR Academy by Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders. The KKR on Thursday announced the launch of ‘KKR Academy’, which is an initiative to provide off-season training facilities and coaching to the players in the squad. KKR CEO and MD Venky Mysore announced Nayar’s appointment through a media release. [caption id=“attachment_3137196” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Abhishek Nayar. PTI[/caption] “Abhishek’s credentials as a cricketer and his deep desire and passion to help cricketers become better is very well known. We felt that he’s ideally suited to lead this initiative,” Mysore said. Nayar, who has played 99 first class games for Mumbai, had told PTI on Wednesday that he had ruled himself out of the race to become coach of fledglings Pudducherry after being approached. The first camp of KKR Academy got underway at Just Cricket Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Nayar, who played three matches for India, on his part said, “KKR has a highly talented set of boys and with this kind of nurturing in the off-season I am sure they will become better cricketers. I am also thankful to the KKR management for investing in the future of these promising cricketers.” KKR also announced that ex-Mumbai bowling coach Omkar Salvi has come on board as the bowling coach of the Academy.