In a big move, Meg Lanning has been announced as the captain of the newly created UP Warriorz team for the next Women’s Premier League (WPL) season. The 33-year-old, who has taken Australia to victory in two ODI World Cups and five T20 World Cups, will be the captain ahead of Deepti Sharma.

The franchise based in Uttar Pradesh broke the news on social media, thus making Deepti, who was retained for a staggering 3.2 Crore in the recently held WPL auction, again take her position as a marquee player rather than as a captain.

Is it a fourth time lucky loading for Lanning?

With Lanning in the helm, Delhi Capitals made it to all three WPL finals, two versus Mumbai Indians and one against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). But Delhi lost the three times, and Lanning would like to change the statistics while being part of her new team.

It’s worth mentioning that Lanning will start her new journey with UP Warriorz, and she will be paired with head coach Abhishek Nayar, who has also been appointed as the head coach of KKR for IPL 2026.

Deepti Sharma – an ancient warrior from the start

Deepti has been part of the UP Warriorz team from the very beginning of the tournament, as she has accumulated 507 runs and captured 27 wickets through the three seasons. She had an astonishing 2025 with the bat and ball, which ultimately got her the Player of the Tournament award during the historic World Cup triumph of India.

Lanning, however, shone equally bright as far as WPL stats are concerned. Scoring nearly 40 on average, the batter from Australia has made 952 runs in the competition with the top score of 92 made against Gujarat Giants. So far, she has accumulated a total of nine fifties.

When will WPL 2026 start?

The WPL 2026 will start on January 9 with Royal Challengers Bangalore clashing with Mumbai Indians for the opening match. UP Warriorz will start their tournament on January 10 by playing against Gujarat Giants at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai.

The tournament will consist of 22 matches in total, and the final will be hosted at BCA Stadium, Kotambi, Vadodara, on February 5.