UP Warriorz walked into the 2026 Women’s Premier League auction with the slimmest squad list but the heaviest wallet. By the close of play they had spent briskly, yet cleverly: INR 2.40 crore on Shikha Pandey, INR 3.2 crore on Deepti Sharma via the right-to-match (RTM) card, and just INR 85 lakh on England spinner Sophie Ecclestone. New head coach Abhishek Nayar, who replaces Jon Lewis this season, said the strategy was always about blending experience with flexibility at the table.
“[Shikha] came for the trials. She is an experienced player and we wanted her experience of having played in high-pressure tournaments,” Nayar explained after the auction in Delhi. “Her numbers in the WPL are the best among Indian pace bowlers in the last three years, be it in the powerplay or death overs.
“We wanted experience in those aspects. Kranti Gaud is a young and exciting player, but like I said we wanted experience.”
Pandey’s international career paused in early 2023, yet her franchise record has remained solid. She featured this year in the Women’s CPL for Trinbago Knight Riders, topping their wicket chart with five at 6.73 runs per over, and sits second only to Nat Sciver-Brunt on the WPL’s overall pace list with 30 wickets at 6.96. Arundhati Reddy is the next Indian seamer on that ladder with 14. For the Warriorz, the seam group now reads Pandey, Gaud, USA left-armer Tara Norris and all-rounder Deandra Dottin.
Spin, however, is where the franchise has long felt strongest. Deepti and Ecclestone remain the main weapons, supported by Asha Sobhana, Australia’s Georgia Wareham and South African all-rounder Chloe Tryon. What surprised most observers was Ecclestone’s price. Ranked No. 1 in ODI and No. 4 in T20I bowling, the 25-year-old had been widely tipped to cross the crore-and-a-half mark.
“I was very surprised, everyone was surprised,” Nayar admitted. “I thought she would go for something like 1.5 crore. But we got her for a great deal at just 85 lakh. But that’s how the auction works – sometimes you pay less, sometimes more. So I’ve very happy overall.”
The Warriorz had already played their RTM once, pulling Deepti back into the fold after initially releasing her to create head-room. The off-spinning all-rounder captained the side briefly last season when Alyssa Healy was injured, and her all-court skillset and leadership clearly remained non-negotiable.
“We wanted a big purse in the auction, that’s it,” Nayar noted. “The first retention price was 3.5 crore, we got her in 3.2 [at the auction]. So, there is still some money saved and we can get an extra player. Getting someone like Pratika Rawal, though she is injured, has become possible.”
Across the market, spinners were in demand. Mumbai Indians spent INR 3 crore on Amelia Kerr, while Royal Challengers let Wareham go only after INR 1 crore. Yet the Warriorz now boast two of the most reliable slow-bowling options in the women’s game for a combined outlay smaller than many rivals’ single purchases. It adds heft to a squad that already reached the knock-outs twice but has lacked late-tournament calm.
Former India selector Saba Karim called the approach “quietly ruthless”, adding that “getting Lanning a masterstroke by UPW.” The move for the Australia captain was a headline act, but internal voices caution that the roster still needs a frontline keeper; assistant coach Julia Price conceded she is “not confident about their wicketkeeper, though”, hinting at further tweaks before the season opener.
Auction dynamics can flatter or bruise reputations. Last year’s million-dollar deals have already mellowed, and the 2026 sale suggested owners have begun judging value with a colder eye. UP Warriorz, bruised by past late-game stumbles, hope their own cold-eyed gambles on experience – Pandey steaming in with the new ball, Deepti and Ecclestone squeezing in the middle overs – will finally translate rupees into silverware.
There is work ahead: integrating new faces, monitoring Rawal’s rehab, fine-tuning batting depth. Yet for Nayar, whose coaching mantra has long been “clarity over clutter”, Thursday was a decent start. Plenty of money spent, plenty saved, and, crucially, plenty of experience banked.
