Abhishek Nayar named UP Warriorz head coach

Former Mumbai cricket player Abhishek Nayar has been named the new manager of the UP Warriorz, a team in the Women’s Premier League. He will be leading the team in the 2026 T20 event, as they are still aiming for their first championship. The team’s current captain, famous cricketer Deepti Sharma, will now work with Nayar.

Abhishek Nayar expertise at the Warriorz dugout is extensive. From 2018 until 2024, he was a member of the coaching staff for the Kolkata Knight Riders, an IPL franchise. Under Shreyas Iyer’s leadership, KKR also won their third championship in the final year of this assignment. He was then released after being selected as head coach Gautam Gambhir’s assistant for the Champions Trophy-winning Indian squad. He will now be working with the women’s team from Uttar Pradesh after serving another stint with Kolkata for the 2025 Indian Premier League.

For Warriorz, bringing in Abhishek Nayar was “a no-brainer.”

For UP Warriorz, hiring Abhishek Nayar as head coach feels like a logical and exciting next step. It was obvious when someone of Abhishek’s quality became available. ESPNcricinfo cited Kshemal Waingankar, the chief operations officer and director of cricketer at the team, as stating, “Very few in Indian cricket bring the same depth of experience when it comes to shaping players and shaping winning cultures.”

“Abhishek has contributed to three championship-winning campaigns in the last 18 months alone, each in a different capacity and making a significant impression. We are ecstatic to have him head a cohesive, fearless, and growth-driven Warriorz team. We think this team can accomplish something really remarkable with Abhishek leading the charge,” Waingankar continued.

Nayar will be counting on his years of coaching experience to help the team win its first-ever title in the lucrative competition when the Women’s Premier League’s fourth season begins in February or March of next year.