Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar views his new role as head coach of the Women’s Premier League side UP Warriorz as more of an opportunity than a challenge, as he aims to build a trophy-winning culture.
Nayar was appointed as the head coach of the franchise after a disappointing last-place finish in the WPL earlier this year, which followed its fourth-place finish in 2024 and third-place finish in the inaugural edition in 2023.
“I’ve always looked at anything as opportunities, and this is an opportunity, which I’m very, very excited for in that regard,” Nayar told PTI.
“The opportunity is to create a culture where everyone understands that this franchise plays to win trophies, and try and bring that mentality into our ecosystem,” he said.
Unfazed by how the last three seasons in WPL have gone for his new franchise, Nayar said the only challenge for them is to move up.
“If I have to be brutally honest, I’m not sure yet what challenges (are that) I’m about to face. I don’t know, and that’s the exciting part,” he said.
“I don’t look at the challenges. I look at the opportunities. The opportunities with our team this year are that we’ve obviously been last, last year, so there’s only one way up,” he said.
As he gears up to take up a big role in the WPL, Nayar pointed out specific changes that he has observed in women’s cricket in India.
“When you saw the England Women’s team facing up against the Indian Women’s team, you could see a stark difference in power and in the variety of shots; the bowlers as well,” he said.
“It’s not often that an Indian women’s team travels abroad and wins with such conviction. When that happens, you know that Indian cricket is in the right hands. They’re moving in the right direction.”
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“WPL will impact not only Indian cricket, but also Indian domestic cricket. It is very different from the first year in a WPL trial, where I felt many people were more touch players. (Now) You can see so much more power entering the game. You can see the girls diving around, throws are flat, throws are faster. There’s enormous growth and that’s not going to stop,” he added.
Nayar, who is also on board the Kolkata Knight Riders coaching staff again, said his return to the franchise two days after leaving the Indian team showed that is where he belongs.
“KKR is family to me. Everyone throws his weight way too much around (the fact) that it’s family, but for me, I think it’s family because the speed at which I came back [to the team] was a testament to the fact that that’s where I belong in a lot of ways,” he said.
