Former New Zealand fast bowler Simon Doull slammed Kolkata Knight Riders’ head coach Abhishek Nayar after the team’s 32-run loss against Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Tuesday.

Nayar took over the coaching reins of KKR ahead of the ongoing season, replacing Chandrakant Pandit at the helm. However, things have gone south for KKR as they are yet to register their first win despite playing five matches in the tournament. Ajinkya Rahane’s team has suffered four losses with one game ending in no-result against PBKS due to rain.

Doull said Nayar needs to be held accountable for the team’s poor performance in IPL 2026.

Simon Doull said on Cricbuzz, “The coach needs to start taking responsibility as well for some of these performances. The coach can’t just hide behind. He needs to front up as well. It’s not just one person’s fault.”

Meanwhile, KKR were restricted to 160-7 in the run chase of 193. The visitors kept losing wickets at regular intervals and failed to find any kind of impetus in their batting innings. Doull said the tourists were ordinary with the bat.

“It wasn’t turning square. It was turning a little bit. There was some pretty ordinary batting. It was another underwhelming performance from a side that just doesn’t seem to know where they are at. It’s not going to get any easier for them throughout the tournament now. It was chasable on a good surface, but they just didn’t show any fight,” said Doull (via the aforementioned source).

“It’s hard to know what that dressing room and franchise is like at the moment. It’s just not working for them.”

Kolkata Knight Riders will next take on Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Friday.