We Wanted To Give Our New Coach A Clean Slate: Kshemal Waingankar

As the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 auction is in full swing with high-intensity bidding, franchises opened up on their strategies and priorities for the season. UP Warriorz and Gujarat Giants, in particular, expressed satisfaction after securing key players central to their plans.

UP Warriorz COO & Director of Cricket Kshemal Waingankar spoke about the franchise’s new direction under head coach Abhishek Nayar, emphasising the importance of giving him complete freedom to shape the squad.

“We have a new coach (Abhishek Nayar) at the helm. We wanted to give him a clean slate to be able to figure out what his sort of vision is and try to build a squad together,” Waingankar said at the press conference.

He added that the franchise always remained confident of retaining their star all-rounder, “We had no doubt that we would be able to bring Deepti (Sharma) back, which we have and we are very delighted to be able to bring her back as well.”

Waingankar also highlighted the value of acquiring senior overseas players, “To add to that, we have also been able to bring Sophie (Ecclestone) back and a leader like Meg Lanning in the mix as well. So, I think so far it’s played out well. Let’s see how the rest of the auction goes.”

Meanwhile, Gujarat Giants head coach Michael Klinger expressed satisfaction with the franchise’s early acquisitions, particularly the additions of Sophie Devine and Renuka Singh Thakur.

“Yeah, I mean, it adds eight overs of really high-quality bowling and experience. You know, both of them World Cup winners,” Klinger said.

“You know, Renuka obviously can give us some really good stuff with the new ball. Soph (Sophie Devine) can bowl in all three phases. It can bat anywhere from one to six,” he noted

He emphasised that the dual signings significantly enhanced the team’s tactical range.

“So, those two picks were really important for us in terms of giving us that flexibility,” he added. (ANI)