UP Warriorz have managed an impressive acquisition in the lead up to the 2026 Women's Premier League season with Abhishek Nayar appointed as their new head coach.
Nayar brings with him a vast degree of coaching experience across multiple domains in the men's game where he has had considerable success. He replaces Jon Lewis who had been the coach for the Warriorz since the WPL's inception in 2023. Warriorz have endured a declining trend in the WPL in the three seasons so far.
Having made the playoffs in the 2023 season, UPW then failed to make that stage in the next two seasons, finishing fourth and fifth respectively under Lewis. Therefore, Nayar's appointment comes as a move to refresh the franchise's strategies and structure.
Nayar, incidentally, had worked as an assistant coach with the UPW squad after the 2023 WPL season but it was a short stint. Having proved his mettle in the men's game as player and coach, this will be Nayar's first entry into the women's game in the coaching department and he is buzzing about the opportunity.
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"I really enjoyed my time working with the UP Warriorz before and I'm thrilled to take on this new role," Nayar said of his appointment.
"WPL is a fantastic platform for women's cricket and I'm looking forward to working closely with the management to build a strong team for Season 4. UP Warriorz already have a strong foundation in place, and I believe we can build something truly special. There is incredible potential and I will give it my all to help win their first-ever title this season"
Nayar, predominantly a batting coach, has been part of Kolkata Knight Riders' coaching setup since 2018 and has closely worked with the franchise's coaching academy to groom young players. Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh are amongst the plethora of young batters who have constantly credited Nayar for their resurgence.
In fact, earlier this year during IPL 2025, Nayar had also worked closely with former teammate and close friend Rohit Sharma when the latter was having minor struggles with his white-ball technique. A giant in India's domestic circuit as a player, Nayar has always been known to be an excellent student of the game and his immaculate knowledge has helped him to become an efficient coach.