BCCI Unhappy With KKR Touch in Team India Management, Role of Gautam Gambhir's Assistants Under Scanner - Report

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are unhappy with the apparent 'Kolkata Knight Riders touch' in the team management with the roles of head coach Gautam Gambhir's assistants Abhishek Nayar and Ryan Ten Doeschate coming under the scanner.

Gambhir's coaching staff face the heat after Team India's disappointing run in the last few months, starting with the home Test series against New Zealand followed by the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia.

According to a report on Times Now, the apex Indian cricketing body is unhappy with the 'KKR flavour' in India's support staff. The cricket body has also questioned the role of Ten Doeschate, while also being unhappy with the work of Nayar, forcing the BCCI to hire former Saurashtra cricketer Sitanshu Kotak as an assistant batting coach.

Former Indian all-rounder Nayar and former Netherlands star Ten Doeschate joined Team India's support staff as assistant coaches during the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka. Nayar and Doeschate were also the assistant coaches at KKR, and worked with Gambhir at the Kolkata-based IPL team.

Under Gambhir's mentorship, the Kolkata-based franchise won the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League after beating Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets. Since Gambhir took over the head coach role of India, there has been mixed results, mostly defeats in ODI and Tests.

While Gambhir has overseen some stunning performances in the T20Is, the under-fire head coach has been in charge of India's most lowly time in Test cricket. Rohit Sharma-led India suffered a first white-wash at home to New Zealand.

Team India followed that home series loss with a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Australia in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 and lost the opportunity to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) Final at Lord's.

The aftermath of the BGT series loss has seen BCCI implement stricter guidelines for India players. According to a recent report from ESPNcricinfo, BCCI is set to implement stricter protocols during Team India's tours.

The report further added that BCCI will limit the players spending time with their families on tours. The players will also be barred from taking independent transport to commute during practice and matches.