Australian legend Shane Watson praised Abhishek NairA deep understanding of the domestic cricket circuit calls this a real behind-the-scenes masterstroke for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). After a disappointing performance in the last IPL season, KKR made a major overhaul, revamping both their playing squad and coaching panel to signal a fresh start ahead of the IPL 2026 mini-auction.
The franchise made significant changes, bringing in international stars such as Mathisha Pathirana, Mustafizur Rahman and Cameron Green, while also securing talented domestic players. Watson highlights Nair's crucial role in these decisions, emphasizing his keen eye for talent and vast cricket knowledge. According to Watson, it was Nair's strategic planning and insight into the domestic setup that laid the foundation for KKR's ambitious rebuild and renewed optimism among the fans.
“I will say this right away. I think Abhishek Nair knows just about every cricketer on the planet. His understanding of Indian domestic players, their stats, where they are, what they've been doing recently, the depth of his intelligence is extraordinary. I'm not sure I've come across anyone with that level of knowledge in the whole of Indian cricket,” Watson said on KKR's YouTube channel.
After serving KKR for many years, Nair was handed even bigger responsibility by being appointed head coach ahead of the upcoming season. After last year's disappointing campaign, the three-time champions are aiming to make a strong comeback in IPL 2026. Watson revealed that Nair's auction blueprint played a vital role in their rebuild, with his strategic planning and talent identification helping the franchise build a balanced and competitive team.
“Going into the auction, I was confident that even if we missed the domestic player we were targeting, Abhishek would already have two or three options with a clear idea of his strengths,” Watson said.
“He was regularly sending me videos, detailing each player's performance in every possible scenario. That level of preparation gave us a lot of confidence. Trusting Abhishek's intelligence, we knew things would go well for us in the auction,” he said.
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