Abhishek Nayar and T Dilip's contracts terminated as BCCI trims India support staff

The contracts of three key members of the BCCI support staff have been terminated as Abhishek Nayar, Soham Desai, and T Dilip will no longer continue with the Indian team. The trio's contract were set to end in June.

Nayar did a great job as the assistant coach as he helped many batters revive their careers. Notably, Nayar was a preferred choice of head coach Gambhir as the duo worked at the Kolkata Knight Riders before taking up the India coaching roles.

As for T Dilip, the Andhra man is regarded as one of the best fielding coaches in the world. He will be particularly remembered for introducing the 'fielding medal award' for players contributing in the field.

Dilip, who had the backing of Rohit, continued with the Indian team even as head coach Rahul Dravid’s tenure ended and Dravid, along with Paras Mhambrey (bowling coach) and Vikram Rathour (fielding coach), exited.

Meanwhile, the team's Strength and Conditioning coach Soham Desai's contract is also not renewed. He has been in that role since 2019.

According to a Cricbuzz report, there were question marks on the position of two coaches after India's poor performance against New Zealand at home and the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.

"...the positions of two coaches [were] in danger following Gautam Gambhir's growing influence within the Indian team setup. Initially, Gambhir aligned with the team's existing preferences, but after a couple of setbacks during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia, he adopted a more assertive and proactive approach," the report stated.

Ryan ten Doeschate, Morne Morkel to continue: Reports

According to the report, India's batting failures in the series played a role in Nayar's axing. Questions regarding his position in the team began to arise ever since the BCCI brought in Sitanshu Kotak as the new batting coach. 

Meanwhile, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate and the bowling coach Morne Morkel are set to continue. There is a new addition in Adrian le Roux, who is set to return to the Indian team as the S&C Coach, having served the same role for a year in the early 2000s.

Le Roux is currently working with Punjab Kings and is yet to inform their management about the BCCI offer. As per reports, Nayar is expected to return to KKR while Dilip could take the coaching job with Andhra Pradesh. When Nayar was KKR's Assistant Coach, he was overseeing their academy and worked with several players individually.