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Abhishek Nayar has revealed the behind-the-scenes of KL Rahul’s transformation. (PC: KKR, AP)
Former India batting coach Abhishek Nayar has revealed that Rohit Sharma had urged him to bring out a ‘more aggressive outlook’ and the ‘best’ version of KL Rahul. According to him, Rohit was a firm believer in Rahul’s abilities and how he could play a major role for India in the 2023-25 cycle.
Nayar joined Gautam Gambhir’s coaching staff as an assistant coach from Kolkata Knight Riders in July 2024. Though Gambhir’s tenure saw white-ball success, the BCCI let Nayar go after the 3-1 defeat to Australia in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Mostly working with batters, his eight-month tenure left a lot to be desired in terms of fixing the same pattern of mistakes in several players.
However, Rahul wasn’t one of them, with the right-hander finally showing signs of realising his potential with consistent runs across formats and conditions. During IPL 2025, Rahul name-dropped Nayar, saying the Mumbaikar had spent hours working on his game and helped him enjoy it again.
“When I first picked up that role, I remember I had a conversation with Rohit, and he said that one of the things he was really keen on me doing was working with KL and bringing out a more aggressive outlook to how KL played the game, and bringing the best out of him because he believed strongly that KL would play a major role in the Champions Trophy, World Cup and everything going forward including the BGT [Border-Gavaskar Trophy] and the Tests in England,” Nayar told Sponne in an interview.
Nayar revealed that he and Rahul made a one-month plan in the lead-up to the Australia tour, and the coach won the pupil’s trust with hours of conversations, before bringing in technical and mental changes. The methods were an instant hit when Rahul, opening the batting in the first Test in Perth in Rohit’s absence, scored 26 and 77 — both important in India’s win.
“A coach has to be lucky,” Nayar said. “How lucky that in his first game in Australia he got runs in the second innings and in the first also he got a start. That gave him a bit of believability. There are times when the glue just sticks. That was the moment the glue stuck. He really enjoyed that knock. He told me, listen, I feel like I am just watching and playing. It’s music to me now, playing the sport.”
Though Rahul didn’t score a century on the tour, it helped him solidify his place in the set-up again.
“I remember we met someone, and he jokingly said, coach, you need to teach me how to score hundreds. And we were laughing in banter. I was like, dude, sometimes hundreds are just luck,” Nayar recalled.
His consistency has eked out to England, where he hit 42 and 137 at Headingley, although in a losing cause.
Nayar also explained why, before this phase, Rahul was unable to fulfill his potential.
“There is outside noise, there are expectations that one has from oneself, expectations that somehow over the years people and yourself, you infuse into your mind,” Nayar said. “So you start thinking this is what you need to do, and this is what you need to achieve, and people keep talking about your potential and your talent, and you keep adding more pressure saying that because everyone thinks I’m talented and because I have the potential, I need to live up to it, and those expectations sometimes weigh on you your shoulders, and those expectations sometimes really pull you down in a lot of ways and don’t let you be you. That was something that I think was one of those things that was holding him back,” he added.
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A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses, features, live scores, results, stats and everything that’s cricket from all over the globe. Follow @cricketnext
