Abhishek Nayar appointed as UP Warriorz head coach ahead of WPL 2026

Abhishek Nayar will replace Jon Lewis as UP Warriorz head coach.

UP Warriorz (UPW) have appointed Abhishek Nayar as their head coach ahead of the next edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL). The franchise parted with Jon Lewis, who was the head coach of the team for the last three seasons.

Nayar has been in a coaching background since his retirement in 2019. He was a member of the support staff of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) from 2018 to 2024 seasons.

When Gautam Gambhir joined Indian Cricket Team as their head coach, Nayar was appointed as the assistant coach. However, his tenure ended in less than a year. Later, he rejoined KKR as an assistant coach in IPL 2025.

UP Warriorz director Kshemal Waingankar welcomes Abhishek Nayar as head coach

UP Warriorz director and COO Kshemal Waingankar welcomed Nayar as the head coach of the team.

“Bringing Abhishek Nayar on board as head coach feels like a natural and exciting step forward for UP Warriorz. When someone of Abhishek’s calibre 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,” he said.

As a coach, Nayar has helped cricketers like Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, and KL Rahul to improve their batting.

Meanwhile, UP Warriorz haven’t won the WPL yet. In the 2025 edition, they finished in the last spot in the points table with six points.

Out of eight games, they won three matches and lost five games. Deepti Sharma was appointed as the skipper of the side in WPL 2025 after Alyssa Healy was ruled out due to injury.

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