UP Warriorz squad 2027 in short: 10 players, Meg Lanning as captain, and eight spots to fill, three of them for overseas players. UPW have ₹3.75 crore, by far the biggest purse in the league and about ₹47 lakh for every open spot. They must buy at least five players to reach the 15-player minimum.

UPW have struggled since their first season, when they reached the Eliminator. They finished fourth in 2024 and last in both 2025 and 2026. That is why they made the biggest changes on retention day, releasing nine players including Amy Jones, Chloe Tryon and Deandra Dottin.

The players they kept are high quality: Deepti Sharma, Meg Lanning, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Ecclestone and Shikha Pandey are all international stars. This page has the full squad with prices, the squad by role, our best XI, the auction plan, the captain, coach and owner, UPW’s record in every season, and our view on how they should spend the biggest purse in Kochi.

UP Warriorz will play eight league matches in WPL 2027, two against each of the other four teams: Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women, Mumbai Indians Women, Delhi Capitals Women and Gujarat Giants Women. The season runs from Thursday, 14 January to Sunday, 7 February 2027. After the league stage, the team that finishes top goes straight to the final, while the teams in second and third place meet in the Eliminator. The fourth and fifth-placed teams are knocked out.

Matches are expected to be split between two host cities. Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium is reported as confirmed, with Vadodara’s Kotambi Stadium or a new stadium in Varanasi as the likely second venue. In past seasons, most WPL matches have started at 7:30 PM IST, with a few afternoon games on double-header days.

UP Warriorz next match

The first match of WPL 2027 is on 14 January 2027. UP Warriorz’s opening fixture, and every match after it, will be listed here once the schedule is out, along with a live score link on match day.

Where to watch and how to get tickets

Ticket prices and booking dates for every venue are on our WPL 2027 tickets page. Last season, tickets went on sale about two weeks before the opening match.

UPW are the team everyone will be watching on 28 October. ₹3.75 crore is more than three times what any other team has, except Gujarat Giants with ₹1.25 crore. They need at least five players and can buy up to eight.

The money means UPW can win almost any bidding war they choose. Sophie Molineux, the Australian left-arm spinning all-rounder at ₹50 lakh base, is the likeliest big-ticket target, and she could become the most expensive player of the night. A keeper-batter is the other must-buy, and UPW may compete with Delhi Capitals for Taniya Bhatia or G Kamalini.

The smart plan is to spend big on two players (one overseas all-rounder, one Indian keeper-batter), then use the rest on Indian depth and two overseas back-ups. The danger is overpaying early and running short for the last few slots.

Meg Lanning joined UPW in the 2026 mega auction and was named captain before the season. She captained Delhi Capitals to the first three WPL finals and led Australia to multiple world titles. Her first season at UPW was hard, but she remains one of the best leaders in the game. Before her, Alyssa Healy captained UPW in 2023 and 2024, and Deepti Sharma in 2025.

Abhishek Nayar, the former India all-rounder and well-known batting coach, was UPW’s head coach in 2026. The big rebuild suggests the management wants players who fit his plans.

UPW are owned by Capri Global, a financial services group. It paid ₹757 crore for the franchise in 2023, the lowest of the five winning bids. UPW are the only WPL team without a sister franchise in the men’s IPL.