Ahead of Season 4 of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), the UP Warriorz have appointed former India allrounder Abhishek Nayar as their head coach. The 41-year-old Nayar replaces Jon Lewis, who had been at the helm with the franchise for the last three seasons.
Nayar, a Mumbai stalwart in first-class cricket, who also played three ODIs for India before his retirement in 2019, joins UP Warriorz with years of experience across various coaching roles at both domestic and international levels.
He served as lead coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders academy in 2018 and then joined the KKR support staff as assistant coach. Nayar also served as the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) head coach in CPL 2022.
During his stint at KKR as assistant coach, Nayar built a rapport with mentor Gautam Gambhir and they helped the Kolkata-based franchise lift their IPL third title in 2024. When Gambhir was appointed the head coach of the Indian, Nayar joined it as assistant coach, but his contract was terminated after the 2025 Champions Trophy in Dubai. He subsequently returned as KKR’s assistant coach for IPL 2025 season.
“I really enjoyed my time working with the UP Warriorz before and I’m thrilled to take on this new role. 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,” said Abhishek Nayar on his appointment.
“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,” he added.
While Nayar has never coached a women’s team, he oversaw a week-long off-season camp with UPW in August 2023 in Bengaluru. He has also worked on a one-on-one basis with a number of international and uncapped Indian players over the years.
Notably, this isn’t the first time Nayar has been associated with the UP Warriorz since he also spent a brief stint with the team during their off-season training camps post Season 1. The franchise is confident that him stepping into the head coach role will bring consistency and strength to the team’s preparations.
“Abhishek Nayar is one of the best brains in the business in Global cricket, and we are delighted to have on our side as the Head Coach. We are excited about his vision for UP Warriorz, and we are confident that under his leadership, the team can provide its fans with many more memorable moments in the future,” said Kshemal Waingankar, COO, UP Warriorz.
As far as their performance in WPL is concerned, UP Warriorz qualified for the playoffs in the inaugural season in 2023, where they lost to eventual champions Mumbai Indians in the eliminator. Since then, they have finished second to bottom and bottom of the five-team points table, in 2024 and 2025 respectively. Overall, UP Warriorz have played 25 matches in the WPL across seasons, of which they have lost 15 games and won ten.