"Was it only Abhishek Nayar's mistake?" - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and other Indian players' batting issues

Former India player Aakash Chopra has questioned why Abhishek Nayar has been sacked as the Men in Blue's assistant coach. He pointed out that Nayar should not be solely held responsible for the batting travails of established players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

Nayar was appointed as one of India's assistant coaches when Gautam Gambhir took over from Rahul Dravid as the head coach. The former India all-rounder has recently been relieved from national duty and has joined the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) coaching staff in IPL 2025.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the cricketer-turned-commentator reflected on some of the recent developments in Indian cricket. As for Nayar's sacking as assistant coach, Chopra said (1:45):

"Rohit Sharma has thanked Abhishek Nayar. He (Rohit) is appreciating and acknowledging him because he would have helped him. However, the Indian team (BCCI) have removed him from the coaching staff. Although even a year isn't over, he is already sidelined, and he is now in KKR's dugout."

"I ask a question. I am wondering if Virat Kohli was playing deliveries outside the off-stump, or Rohit Sharma wasn't scoring runs, or there were a few batting collapses, and they weren't able to play spin, was it only Abhishek Nayar's mistake?" he added.

Chopra noted that Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill's techniques couldn't have gone awry within a few months.

"It cannot happen that six months ago, when they were under Rahul Dravid, with Vikram Rathour as the batting coach, everyone's technique was fine, but suddenly, when Abhishek Nayar came, everyone's technique became bad. We are talking about Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill," he elaborated.

Aakash Chopra pointed out that Abhishek Nayar wouldn't have been required to teach basics to such big names, and questioned whether they would start getting out if he wasn't able to do so. To conclude, he termed Nayar's sacking a wrong decision.

---

"You might think that players who play all 3 formats should only be there in the A+ category" - Aakash Chopra on BCCI central contracts

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are among the players given Grade A+ contracts. [P/C: BCCI]

Reflecting on the recently announced BCCI central contracts, Aakash Chopra noted that some people might wonder why Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, who no longer play all three formats, are placed in Grade A+.

"Another news was that the central contracts have been announced. Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan have made a comeback, which is actually good news. You might think that players who play all three formats should only be there in the A+ category," he said (10:15) in the same video.

The former India opener pointed out that the contracts are based on the previous year and opined that the trio would not be in the highest bracket next season.

"In principle, that is correct, and that will happen as well, but the announcement is made based on the retrospective year, the year that has passed. So all the names were three-format players at that time. Now they are not. So you will find that these players' names won't be there when the next list is announced," Chopra observed.

Apart from Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah is the only player in Grade A+. While Grades A and B have five players apiece, 19 cricketers have been given Grade C contracts.