WPL 2026: 'Just didn't work out' - Head coach Abhishek Nayar mulls over UP Warriorz's campaign

Published - 02 Feb 2026, 09:34 IST | Updated - 02 Feb 2026, 09:52 IST

UP Warriorz’s WPL 2026 campaign came to an end with a five-wicket defeat against Delhi Capitals, confirming their elimination from the tournament. The Warriorz managed just two wins from eight matches to finish at the bottom of the table for the second consecutive year. Reflecting on the disappointing campaign, head coach Abhishek Nayar admitted that it was one of those seasons where it’s tough to pinpoint what went wrong.

Notably, the team's only two victories came in Navi Mumbai, both against the two-time champions, Mumbai Indians, a historic double that no team had achieved before in a single WPL season. Those wins raised their playoff hopes, but their Vadodara leg witnessed underwhelming results. UPW lost all three matches in Vadodara, which ultimately cost them a spot in the Eliminator. A major blow came with the loss of Phoebe Litchfield, who returned to Australia with a quad niggle after scoring 243 runs in six innings.

"In the business-half, you normally want your in-form players to be there. I just felt that our No. 3 didn't look the same post-Phoebe. And it was hard for us to fill her boots. We needed that left-hander to come in and take Bell on in the PowerPlay. There was a bit of thought process as to hopefully winning that game and winning that matchup, which I thought we did. But, we didn't capitalize on it. I don't believe that retention guarantees anything for anyone. We know what Shweta has done in the past or what she can do. But it was just one of the seasons where she, like Kiran, couldn't do what she set out to do. And that happens in T20 cricket. You get challenged, things work out, things don't work out," Nayar said as quoted by Cricbuzz.

WPL 2026: DC W vs UP W Highlights & Result - Match 20

Despite winning only two games, UPW remained mathematically in contention until the final league match. However, their qualification hopes depended on an improbable scenario, beating the Delhi Capitals by 156 runs. Batting first, they were restricted to 122 and then hurt themselves in the field, dropping four catches, including three of Laura Wolvaardt, who went on to guide DC home. Meanwhile, captain Meg Lanning pointed to inconsistent performances as the main issue.

"We just haven't been consistent enough. We've had patches of games where we have played well and put the opposition under pressure but sort of given it back to them easily. That's the biggest thing for me, just doing it for longer. When you get a team under pressure [to] really make it difficult for them to stay in the game," captain Meg Lanning said.