New-look Giants, Warriorz hope for strong start to new season
Both sides overhauled their squads at the mega auction and will hope to lock in their combinations quickly
Abhimanyu Bose
09-Jan-2026
Beth Mooney is the second-highest run-scorer for Giants • BCCI
Big picture: The need for speed up top
Gujarat Giants and UP Warriorz are the only two teams yet to reach a Women's Premier League (WPL) final. They were the two teams that had the biggest overhauls in the WPL 2026 mega auction, having retained just two and one players respectively. And now they face each other to kick off their new campaigns.
Across the three seasons so far, these two teams have scored slower than the rest, and this is an area they would both want to address urgently. Giants have bolstered their top order with the acquisition of Sophie Devine, Yastika Bhatia and Danni Wyatt-Hodge to support the retained duo of captain Ashleigh Gardner and former captain Beth Mooney. But with a slightly inexperienced middle order, they could end up relying on one of their big guns to do the heavy lifting with the bat in most games.
Warriorz, meanwhile, seem to have achieved a good balance in their batting line-up. Meg Lanning, a marquee signing at the mega auction, is set top open with Kiran Navgire, with Harleen Deol and the uncapped Shweta Sehrawat - their only retention ahead of the season - the other top-order options. They bought back Deepti Sharma in the auction, and she will have plenty of support in the middle order with former Giants batter Phoebe Litchfield and allrounders Deandra Dottin and Chloe Tryon in the fray.
After three seasons of struggling to find balance and the right combinations, Saturday's game will give both teams a chance to show who came out of the auction better prepared.
In the spotlight: Mooney and Navgire
Beth Mooney finished as the second-highest run-scorer in women's T20s in 2025 and topped the run charts in the latest WBBL season. She has been with Giants from the inaugural season in 2023, and comes into this season in piping-hot form. Despite playing just one game in WPL 2023 before being ruled out with injury, Mooney is Giants' second-highest run-scorer behind Gardner, and remains their north star with the bat. Giants have a top-heavy batting lineup, and Mooney will be the prime candidate to be the anchor around whom the likes of Devine, Yastika and Gardner can explode.
Kiran Navgire came into the WPL in 2023 with a reputation of being a big hitter, but has failed to deliver at this stage. But after some shuffling up and down the order, she seems to have found a home at the top of it and comes into the season with good form behind her. She helped Maharashtra win their maiden Senior Women's T20 Trophy in October 2025, smashing the fastest century in women's T20 cricket in the process. Paired with Lanning at the top, she will be tasked with giving Warriorz a fast start. She is Warriorz's leading six-hitter and they will hope she can marry her explosiveness with consistency.
Team news: Big overseas omissions likely
Giants may not be able to fit in Danni Wyatt-Hodge, the leading run-scorer in women's T20s in 2025, while they also face questions over their bowling combination. If Georgia Wareham plays, they might have to go with an all-Indian pace attack, leaving Kim Garth on the bench. However, they do have the option of playing Garth ahead of Wareham, with Rajeshwari Gayakwad coming in for Kashvee Gautam or Titas Sadhu. With Bhatia yet to recover from a long-term injury, Bharti Fulmali is likely to slot into the top order.
Gujarat Giants (probable): 1 Beth Mooney (wk), 2 Sophie Devine, 3 Bharti Fulmali, 4 Ashleigh Gardner (capt), 5 Georgia Wareham, 6 Kanika Ahuja, 7 Ayushi Soni, 8 Kashvee Gautam, 9 Tanuja Kanwar, 10 Titas Sadhu, 11 Renuka Singh.
Warriorz retained only Sehrawat ahead of the WPL 2026 auction, and she is likely to slot in as a the wicketkeeper. Chloe Tryon, who played a few impressive knocks in the Women's ODI World Cup in India in November, may have to wait to get into the side, with Lanning, Litchfield, Dottin and Sophie Ecclestone the likely overseas picks.
UP Warriorz (probable): 1 Meg Lanning (capt), 2 Kiran Navgire, 3 Harleen Deol, 4 Phoebe Litchfield, 5 Shweta Sehrawat (wk), 6 Deepti Sharma, 7 Deandra Dottin, 8 Sophie Ecclestone, 9 Asha Sobhana, 10 Shikha Pandey, 11 Kranti Gaud.
Pitch and conditions
The DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai is known for helping the batters, especially so in the second innings thanks to dew. There is some assistance for quick bowlers with the new ball, but overall, it's likely going to favour the teams chasing. In the first game of the season as well, Royal Challengers Bengaluru chose to bowl against defending champions Mumbai Indians.
Stats and trivia
- Lanning needs 21 runs to pip compatriot Ellyse Perry, who has withdrawn from WPL 2026 for personal reasons, to go second on the all-time WPL run-scorers' list.
- Giants and Warriorz have an even head-to-head record, with three wins each in six meetings.
- With 36 wickets, Ecclestone is the third-highest wicket-taker in WPL. She needs five wickets to go joint-top.
- While Warriorz have won just six of their last 16 games over the two previous seasons, Giants have as many wins in their last 17 games. Both teams will be looking to improve on their records.
Abhimanyu Bose is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo