UP Warriorz head coach Abhishek Nayar on Monday (January 5) stated that the franchise is awaiting clearance from the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (COE) regarding the availability of India batter Pratika Rawal for the upcoming Women’s Premier League (WPL) season.

The fourth edition of the WPL will run from January 9 to February 5. The match will be played in Navi Mumbai and Vadodara.

Pratika had sustained an ankle injury during the Women’s ODI World Cup last November and missed the knockout fixtures of the tournament.

“Pratika, we (are) still… I’m not sure to be honest, but I think the NCO, the COE, as they call it now, I think they will take a call on it,” Nayar replied when asked about the availability of the Indian opener.

“But regardless, it’s always exciting to have Pratika in the set-up, and I feel any team is only a good team when you have contrasting players, not players who play the same style and brand of cricket,” Nayar said during a press conference.

With Australian legend Meg Lanning set to assume UP Warriorz captaincy, Nayar said, “best teams have best captains”.

“Something that was very important when we tried to form this squad was to get the best captain out there and someone who could lead this group. It was a very easy and obvious choice for us,” he added.

“Having Meg there makes things easier for me. It’s the first time (as WPL head coach) for me, yes. But I’ve always believed the best teams have the best captains. And this format, especially, is a captain’s format. I wanted someone who could lead this team, and having Meg there makes things very easy for me.”

Nayar acknowledged that UP Warriorz are facing some trouble with a designated wicketkeeper, but expressed confidence that the team management will discover a “women's KL Rahul”.  

“There are concerns with the wicketkeeping aspect of it. We are working our way around it. We may surprise you all at the start,” he stated. “For us, at the end of the auction, reflecting (on it), maybe that was one aspect that we could have gotten better.

“But I also understand that sometimes in this T20 format, it’s important to take chances. That’s how KL Rahul became a KL Rahul. So hopefully we can form a women's KL Rahul who then represents India in the future. But I think that’s one area that we’re working towards.”

Lanning is banking on experience players on her side as she takes up the leadership role of a new franchise. “I’m very privileged to have the opportunity to lead the squad into the new season and build on what’s already been put in place,” she said.

“We’ve obviously still got Deepti (Sharma)... Sophie Ecclestone as well, who’s been around a lot. I’ll be leaning on those players as well to learn as much as I can and understand what the franchise is about, but also trying to move us forward and put my own spin on it,” she added.

Lanning hailed India all-rounder Deepti, who was the Player of the Tournament in the Women’s World Cup 2025, for her stunning exploits.

“She’s able to impact the game with both bat and ball and has really improved her game too, which is good to see. She’s always been such a good player, but for her to have that drive to keep getting better and want to be the best is very important to someone at this level,” Lanning said.

She also highlighted WPL’s role in the rise of Indian talent. “The biggest thing that I have seen is just the depth and the amount of Indian players who are able to contribute and win games for their teams,” Lanning said.

“...now you have got contributions from a number of different people, and they are putting pressure on the big stars, which is really good to see. That creates some really good depth for Indian cricket, and we have obviously seen that with the success at the World Cup.”

(With PTI Inputs)