UP Warriorz (UPW) were set for a rejig after they retained just one uncapped player in Shweta Sehrawat before the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 player auction. It was the first-ever auction and UPW eyed a major reset. They came to the auction with the fattest purse of Rs 14.5 crore and basically bullied all the other teams. The three of the top five most expensive buys belonged to UPW.
UP Warriorz head coach Abhishek Nayar did an excellent job in stacking up the squad. They used their RTM cards to a great effect as well, bringing back Deepti Sharma for a whopping Rs 3.20 crore. They also bought back Kiran Navgire, Kranti Gaud, and Sophie Ecclestone, who got in for a steal.
Great batting depth for Deepti Sharma’s team
UP Warriorz has virtually replaced Alyssa Healy with Meg Lanning. While they lost a keeper, they have gained probably the best-ever captain in women’s cricket. She captained Australia to four consecutive T20 World Cup titles, two ODI World Cups, and a Commonwealth Games gold medal. UPW, still eyeing their maiden WPL win, desperately need a figure like her. What’s more, she is in an insane form right now, having racked up 400 runs at an average of 80.0 and a 148.15 SR in the ongoing WBBL. She is even two years younger than Healy.
Lanning’s opening partner could anyone of Kiran Navgire or Shweta Sehrawat. However, Navgire could do what Shafali Verma did with Lanning at DC. Navgire is an ultra-attacking option and recently hit a 34-ball century while playing for Maharashtra in the Women’s T20 Trophy 2025. This means Harleen Deol, Shweta, Phoebe Litchfield and Simran Shaikh are the options in the middle order.
We haven’t talked much about the fact that the batting core’s main nucleus would be Deepti Sharma and Deandra Dottin. Deepti will bring the calmness, and Dottin, as we all know, will cause mayhem. On the bench, they would also have Chloe Tryon too.
Cricket 5 seconds Rating DC’s squad after WPL auction 2026Lack of major keeper the only hole in UPW team
Despite having all the money at the auction, UPW failed to land a major wicket-keeper. They could’ve done with either Uma Chetry or Nandini Kashyap but UPW went with Shipra Giri, who is the only specialist keeper in the team. While she could be a great talent, UPW would want someone like Litchfield to take up the gloves. It would solve massive issues for them. First, the Australia southpaw will add more value to the team, while they can then easily slot in Sehrawat in the first XI, who is a much better batter than Giri as of now.
Yes, Litchfield hasn’t kept wickets for Australia or in the WPL, but she regularly practises the art. Even during the auction, Abhishek Nayar hinted that they have a keeping option in the playing XI. His words came even before they signed Giri. So who it is certain that UPW will be giving a major surprise to fans.
Terrific bowling unit to be spearheaded by Ecclestone
Only perhaps the Mumbai Indians (MI) can boast that they have a better bowling unit than UPW after the WPL 2026 mega auction. While MI bought back the likes of Amelia Kerr and Shabnim Ismail, UPW did a terrific job in landing Sophie Ecclestone and Kranti Gaud for a combined Rs 1.35 crore. Ecclestone, we all know, is one of the best spinners of this generation and Gaud has the raw skills to spearhead the Indian pace attack in the future.
The steal deals allowed UPW to go hard for someone like Shikha Pandey, who cost them Rs 2.40 crore. Having made her debut in 2014 across all formats, she brings major experience to this UPW bowling unit. In WPL history, no other Indian player has more wickets than Pandey’s 30, which she has taken at an incredible economy of 6.96. She was one of the crucial cogs in the DC unit that played all the first three WPL finals.
Asha Sobhana is another major Indian name who takes care of the spinning duty. A late bloomer in women’s cricketing landscape, she became the first-ever Indian to take a fifer in WPL. Asha finished the 2024 season as the joint second-highest wicket-taker with 12 wickets, playing a key role in RCB’s title win. With Deepti Sharma in the ranks, UPW have a deadly spin trio.
UP Warriorz Best Possible XI for WPL 2026
Meg Lanning (c), Kiran Navgire, Harleen Deol, Phoebe Litchfield (wk), Shweta Sehrawat, Deepti Sharma, Deandra Dottin , Sophie Ecclestone , Kranti Gaud, Shikha Pandey, Asha Sobhana
Total Rating Points for UPW after WPL 2026 auction: 9/10
UP Warriorz Squad for WPL 2026
Batters: Meg Lanning (INR 1.90 crore), Phoebe Litchfield (INR 1.20 crore), Kiran Navgire (RTM, INR 60 lakh), Pratika Rawal (INR 50 lakh), Shweta Sehrawat (retained, INR 50 lakh), Harleen Deol (INR 50 lakh), Simran Shaikh (INR 10 lakh)Wicketkeepers: Shipra Giri (INR 10 lakh) Allrounders: Deepti Sharma (RTM, INR 3.20 crore), Deandra Dottin (INR 0.80 crore), Chloe Tryon (INR 30 lakh), G Trisha (INR 10 lakh), Suman Meena (INR 10 lakh)Spinners: Asha Sobhana (INR 1.1 crore), Sophie Ecclestone (RTM, INR 0.85 crore)Fast bowlers Shikha Pandey (INR 2.40 crore), Kranti Gaud (RTM, INR 50 lakh), Tara Norris (INR 10 lakh)
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