IPL 2018: KKR name Abhishek Nayar as their mentor

What's the story?

The Kolkata Knight Riders have roped in Abhishek Nayar as their mentor. Although his playing career isn't hiking up, his ability as a mentor has drawn KKR's attention.

"It's an honour for me and I will try to help the younger players of the team to the best of my abilities," said Nayar.

In case you didn't know...

Abhishek Nayar, hailing from Andhra Pradesh, has played for Mumbai in First-Class cricket. He has also represented four teams in his 8-year-long IPL career - Mumbai Indians, Kings XI Punjab, Pune Warriors India and Rajasthan Royals.

The heart of the matter

Drumrolls 🥁We are happy to announce the veteran of Mumbai Cricket, @abhisheknayar1 as a part of our support staff.He brings rich T20 experience with ball and bat.🏏#KKRHaiTaiyaar #IPL2018

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 15, 2018

The choice of Nayar as the mentor isn't really surprising as the captain, Dinesh Karthik had recently credited him for the positive developments in his career. While the Nidahas Trophy final's hero had almost left hopes of representing the nation, he reckons he was lucky to find Nayar. The all-rounder 'showed the light at the end of the tunnel' and kept Karthik going.

Apart from the KKR captain, a few Mumbai youngsters like Shreyas Iyer and Shardul Thakur have also acknowledged the help they've gained from Nayar.

The Hindi commentator of the IPL with Star Sports, the Mumbai FC cricket veteran will now quit the job and join the KKR support staff. The team already has Jacques Kallis as their head coach with Simon Katich for assistance and Heath Streak for bowling. It appears that Nayar was offered the role of a mentor by few other teams as well, before he settled for KKR.

What's next?

After losing their last two games, KKR will take on the Delhi Daredevils at the Eden Gardens and hope for a positive result.

Author's take

Agreeing with the words by KKR's CEO, Venky Mysore, Nayar will surely bridge the generation gap between the other coaches and the players. A different approach with a contemporary understanding of the game will benefit the young players. Suits well for the increasing demands of the shortest format of the game, that is changing the outlook of cricket with every passing day.

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