Abhishek Nayar, who had a tough time as the assistant coach of Team India, has returned to the IPL after being removed by the BCCI. Nayar has rejoined Kolkata Knight Riders and has also agreed to mentor the WPL team UP Warriorz. Surprisingly, the news about his return to KKR came out even before his removal from the Indian team was officially confirmed.

While he was unfortunately sacked, Nayar's contribution to the Indian team was not ignored. Batter KL Rahul credited him for helping improve his game in the white-ball format. However, even before Nayar's removal from the Indian team was officially confirmed, the news of him rejoining KKR became public.

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Nayar Calls KKR His Family

Speaking about his return to the IPL, Abhishek Nayar said the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise feels like a family to him. That’s why he didn’t think twice before making a quick return. 

"KKR is family to me. Everyone talks a lot about teams being like family, but for me, it truly is. The speed at which I came back shows that this is where I belong," Nayar said.

"I've always seen everything as an opportunity. This is another one, and I'm very excited about it," he told PTI.

Excited to Mentor UP Warriorz in WPL

Nayar has also taken on a new role as a mentor for the Women's Premier League (WPL) team, UP Warriorz. He is looking forward to helping the team grow and build a winning culture.

"The goal is to create a strong culture where everyone understands that this team plays to win trophies. I want to bring that mindset into our system," he said.

Nayar added that the WPL has the power to change Indian women’s cricket in a big way.

"WPL will impact not just Indian cricket but also domestic cricket. In the first season, many players looked like touch players. But now, there’s more power in the game. The girls are diving, the throws are flatter and faster. There’s huge growth, and it’s only going to get better," he added.

The UP Warriorz and Mumbai Indians Women are gearing up for their second encounter in WPL 2024. Match 14 of the tournament, UP-W vs MI-W, is scheduled to unfold on Thursday, March 7, at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

Under the leadership of Harmanpreet Kaur, Mumbai Indians Women are ready to take on Alyssa Healy’s UP Warriorz. With both teams having competed in 5 matches so far in WPL, Mumbai Indians Women have won the toss and elected to bat.

Women’s Premier League: Who said what at the toss?

Alyssa Healy: It (the toss) doesn’t matter you have to do well both fronts. Yes, the last couple of games have been won by the team batting first but we don’t mind bowling first. It is just one game at a time and focus on that, think about tomorrow’s game later. We have one change.

Harmanpreet Kaur: We are gonna have a bat first. There is no dew in the last couple of games, that’s the only reason. When there is dew chasing is the better option else why to put yourself under pressure. We are going with the same team.

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Playing XIs

UP Warriorz (Playing XI): Alyssa Healy(w/c), Kiran Navgire, Chamari Athapaththu, Grace Harris, Shweta Sehrawat, Deepti Sharma, Uma Chetry, Poonam Khemnar, Sophie Ecclestone, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Saima Thakor

Mumbai Indians Women (Playing XI): Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia(w), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Amelia Kerr, Pooja Vastrakar, Amanjot Kaur, S Sajana, Humaira Kazi, Shabnim Ismail, Saika Ishaque