Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have appointed Abhishek Nair as the head coach of the franchise ahead of the 2026 edition of the IPL. Nair, who has been associated with the franchise since 2018, has been promoted to the role of head coach for the first time. He replaces veteran domestic coach Chandrakant Pandit, who was the head of the franchise for three seasons. After being dropped from the Indian support staff led by head coach Gautam Gambhir, Nair returned to the franchise midway through the 2025 edition of the IPL.
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“Abhishek has been an integral part of the Knight Riders team since 2018 and has played a vital role in grooming our players on and off the field. His understanding of the game and connect with the players has been crucial in our development. We are thrilled to see him take over as head coach and lead KKR into its next chapter,” KKR CEO Venky Mysore said in a franchise statement. Nair, who has been openly acknowledged by players like Dinesh Karthik and KL Rahul for helping improve the white-ball game, was also appointed head coach by WPL team UP Warriors. Nair joined the KKR Academy as the head coach in 2018 and soon joined the team’s support staff. Nair was associated with the team when Jacques Kallis was the head coach, who was later replaced by Brendon McCullum and Pandit.
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Nair was with the franchise as assistant coach in 2024 along with Pandit and Gambhir, who was the mentor when KKR won their third IPL title, and Shreyas Iyer as captain. Nair also served as the head coach of the Trinbago Knight Riders, the Knight Riders’ satellite franchise in the CPL in 2022.