As the Women’s Premier League mega auction approached, UP Warriorz made some shocking moves by letting go of several big-name players who were key to their roster. On the last day to keep players—Thursday, November 6—the franchise made the shocking decision to fire their captain, Deepti Sharma.
But that wasn’t all. Australia’s Alyssa Healy, England’s world-class spinner Sophie Ecclestone, quick bowler Kranti Goud, and the versatile Grace Harris all had to leave. It was a big clear-out, and many people were left wondering what the franchise would do next.
“It’s always hard when it comes to retentions”- UP Warriorz
UP Warriorz took a big risk by basically starting over with their roster. The team kept only one player, 21-year-old Shweta Sehrawat, for Rs 50 lakh, and they made a huge Rs 14.5 crore for the next big auction. They have the biggest war chest in the competition going into the November auction, with four Right-To-Match cards in their back pocket. Head coach Abhishek Nayar came up with this daring plan, saying it was a chance to rebuild with the most freedom and money possible.
But the real shocker was letting Deepti Sharma go just days after she completely destroyed her opponents in the Women’s World Cup final. Deepti had just led India to their first World Cup title, scoring 215 runs and taking 22 wickets. She was named Player of the Tournament. Letting go of a player in that shape, at that time, was a statement move that shook the league to its core. Nayar, who is also in charge of the Kolkata Knight Riders for IPL 2026, clearly thinks that this fresh start will be good for business.
“It’s always hard when it comes to retentions, when you have so many good players — leaders in their own rights, high-performing players. But I think the thought from the franchise was to go in with a clean slate. Have as much money in the purse as possible to make sure we can not only get the players that we feel can win the Championship, but also get a lot of these players back in the auction. The RTMs give you the power to do so,” Abhishek Nayar told JioStar after the retentions were announced by all five WPL teams.
