The German was asked to leave or be sacked by AIFF president Praful Patel following accusations of physical abuse against him by the young players.
As many as 21 players in a signed letter to AIFF had alleged that the coach had beaten them up and terrorised them during training sessions.
While the AIFF has been tight-lipped about the development, reliable sources claim that the embattled coach was on his way out after strongly resisting the AIFF's demand for past one week.
In February, 2015, Nicolai was appointed by the AIFF to prepare the young Indian players for the upcoming FIFA World cup which is scheduled to be held in India from October 6 to 28 later this year.
While there were allegations from players, things have gone worse following the disastrous exposure trip to Russia where India finished last in the Granatkin Memorial Cup after losing 0-1 to 10-man Tajikistan in a 15-16th position play-off match.
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