Meg Lanning and new head coach Abhishek Nayar spent a fair chunk of Monday chatting in Navi Mumbai, and the theme was simple enough: how do you knit a fresh-looking UP Warriorz squad together quickly, without losing what already works?
The former Australia captain, still only 33, has been in charge of teams for more than a decade, yet the Women’s Premier League offers her a different sort of puzzle. “I certainly learnt a lot in my experience with Delhi,” she said. “Coming into a new franchise, you don’t really know how things operate or how individuals work.”
Those first few days, Lanning explained, are all about names, roles, and rhythms – “I’m struggling a little bit with all the names,” she admitted – and then working out where her voice helps and where it is better to step back. “I don’t want to be in control over everything [but] try and bring different people’s perspectives and give them confidence to be able to execute their roles.”
UP’s best finish so far came in the 2023 playoffs. Since then almost everything has been tweaked. Five uncapped players arrived at December’s mega-auction, while Shweta Sehrawat, 21, was the sole pre-draft retention. Alyssa Healy has stepped aside; the coaching staff is entirely new.
In that context, bringing back proven performers made sense. The franchise spent big to re-sign Sophie Ecclestone and Deepti Sharma – both familiar to Lanning from her WBBL stint in 2024-25 – and also welcomed back seamer Shikha Pandey, another ally from the Delhi Capitals dressing-room.
“Deepti has been able to impact the game with both bat and ball and has really improved her game too, which is good to see,” Lanning said. “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. … I’ll be leaning on her a little bit, and Sophie Ecclestone as well, who has been around a lot, to work out how we go about it.”
Nayar, beginning his first head-coach role in women’s cricket, made no secret of why he chased Lanning. “For me, she is the best mind out there in women’s cricket,” he said. “So we are very happy to have her. It’s the first time for me, yes. But I’ve always believed the best teams have the best captains. And this format, especially, is a captain’s format.”
That blend of tactical nous and fresh energy will decide whether the Warriorz move beyond that solitary play-off appearance. The squad is younger, perhaps raw, yet there is clear batting depth and two of the most reliable spinners in the women’s game. If Lanning can “put my own spin on it,” as she put it, while giving room for the next generation to breathe, the project may click sooner than outsiders expect.
