Former India coach appointed as UP Warriorz head coach for upcoming WPL season

UP Warriorz has made a huge move ahead of next season's Women's Premier League (WPL). They appointed former Team India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar as their head coach. Nair will take over his duties from Jon Lewis, who had been in charge of the team for the last three seasons.

With a prolific coaching background, Nayar's inclusion is considered a positive move from the franchise. Before pursuing a career as a professional coach, the Mumbai-born played a lot of cricket in the domestic circuit.

He was among the stalwarts of Mumbai cricket in domestic cricket. Later, he went to play for India also. He played 3 ODIs in Blue before announcing retirement in 2019. Then, the Mumbaikar started to explore prospects in cricket as a coach. As a coach, he got the opportunity to contribute to Team India, combining with head coach Gautam Gambhir. But his stint with India proved brief when the board decided to terminate his contract within a year.

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Effective bond with Knight Riders 

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), a multi-time IPL-winning team, showed faith in the former cricketer again and again. He was the lead coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders academy in 2018 and then joined the KKR support staff as assistant coach. In the 2024 season, the combination of Nayar and head coach Gautam Gambhir helped the franchise to win the title again. UP Warriorz felt pretty positive after recruiting Abhishek Nayar as their head coach. It was a no-brainer move from them. 

"When someone of Abhishek's caliber became available, it was a no-brainer. Few in Indian cricket bring the same depth of experience when it comes to shaping players and shaping winning cultures," Kshemal Waingankar, COO and director of cricket at UPW, said.