UP Warriorz’s off-season camp a great touch point for coaches to help players get better, says Lisa Sthalekar

Bengaluru: Lisa Sthalekar, the mentor of WPL side UP Warriorz, believes that the importance of the franchise’s off-season training camp being held in Bengaluru, is a great touch point for the coaching staff to assist and help the players in becoming the better version of themselves on-field.

UP Warriorz finished at third place in the inaugural season of the WPL held in Mumbai earlier this year.

Apart from Lisa, head coach Jon Lewis, assistant coach Anju Jain, and Kolkata Knight Riders assistant coach Abhishek Nayar are putting the Indian contingent of the UP Warriorz squad through the paces of the game in the off-season camp.

“It has been great to get the Indian players together to see how things are tracking. With the WPL a yearly tournament and so much cricket taking place in between it is a great touch point so that the coaches can assist and help the players continually get better.

A great rapport was built in the first season so to then meet up after a few months and keep adding another level will only make this group stronger. The first year was all about getting to know each other and by the end some good friendships formed, so to ensure that it continues to grow and show camps like this are really important,” Lisa was quoted as saying by the franchise, in a media release.

The 43-year-old Sthalekar, a versatile all-rounder for Australia in her playing days, went on to talk about what she expects from the Indian players after the off-season camp ends.

“Would love to see them dominate with the bat. They certainly have the talent and the skill, so getting a chance to work on things quite specific to the T20 game now and being put into scenarios where they can problem-solve and see the outcome without the pressure of a match is really important,” she said.

Lisa, who won the Women’s T20 World Cup twice with Australia, signed off with some crucial words of wisdom for the UP Warriorz Indian players.

“Enjoy the season, enjoy the opportunities that you are getting. Plus try not to put any pressure on yourself, just go out there and do what you do well,” she concluded.

–IANS