Coaching women has 'not been easy' - Nayar learns on the job at UP Warriorz

Abhishek Nayar, who took over as head coach UP Warriorz (UPW) ahead of the ongoing season of the WPL, has admitted that his first few days on the job have "not been easy", adding that women's cricket has required him to be more "hands-on" than he had anticipated.

UPW endured a rough start to their campaign, losing three games in a row before winning against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Thursday. For Nayar, who has previously coached high-profile men's teams, holding positions with the senior India side and Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, this is the first full-time role with a women's team, though he had been part of a few training camps with UPW over the last few years.

"I'm wrapping my head around it," Nayar said. "I think a lot of coaches that I spoke to before taking up this job told me, 'listen, be direct'. In men's cricket sometimes, because you've worked with them for a long time, there is that trust. So you say a certain thing, if you say 'listen, go over covers', they will know which ball to do it to, how to do it. In women's cricket, I think the attention to detail is a little more, so sometimes you need to sort of break it down in a lot of ways, and it's not as obvious as you think it is. So I feel it's a more hands-on job."

Nayar said coaching women needed more communication than when it comes to coaching men, pointing to the recent Harleen Deol retired-out situation as an example of one of the challenges he faced.

"I'm also teaching myself every day that, 'listen Abhishek, open your mouth, talk', and you sometimes have to do it," he said. "They [players] are so receptive to it, it's amazing, in men's cricket you have to be wary about 'what to talk, what not to'. I think in women's cricket, they are very receptive, so you can actually talk to them, you can get into those details. But I think trust takes time, and I'm working around that. I mean, Harleen and these things happen, and things come out [and] it becomes harder for me. It's different, it's fun, it's challenging, it's testing me in every which way, and sort of preparing me for the IPL also, in a different way. But I would say it's not been easy."

Nayar spoke about UPW's new captain Meg Lanning's role in helping the team navigate the early losses, praising her work ethic and approach.

"Coaches always play that role of creating an environment and a system, but if you don't have a good leader, it's hard to win after three losses. Meg Lanning is hands-on," Nayar said. "As she's getting a grip of the team, she's having more conversations, she's talking to people, she's involved, she's talking about plans. As games go on, I'm getting to see the real Meg Lanning.

"One of the things in the auction was to have a strong leader in this season. She runs this team, and like I always say, she's the boss of the team. She can have fun with the girls, but she's very meticulous with the planning, sitting with the bowlers, sitting with the batters, testing our coaches, testing us with lots of questions of stats, match-ups, areas, and she's learning. She's learning how to work with these girls, their strengths and weaknesses, because it's new to her as well. With time, she'll go strength to strength; she is meticulous."

He also backed opener Kiran Navgire, who entered the WPL on the back of a strong domestic season but has struggled for runs, making scores of 1, 5, 0 and 10 so far.

"I think it's been hard for her so far in this tournament, because she came in with a lot of expectations after her domestic season," Nayar said. "These conditions have not necessarily suited her yet, but I think what we've tried to do with her is make sure that she can still go and give herself the best chance by being aggressive, I think that is who she is.

"Today we tried a bit, I don't know if you've noticed, by changing the strike [Lanning facing the first ball]. At times like that I just feel, in this format, it's cruel. It's so fast-paced that it's not easy on a player, so you want to make sure you give them the freedom, and you give them the support so they can keep going, and you don't win it becomes hard, but when you win it becomes slightly easier."