UP Warriorz have acquired Australian all-rounder Sophie Molineux for Rs 1.10 crore during the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2027 auction held in Kochi on October 28. Molineux, who contributed to Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) 2024 title-winning campaign, was secured after a competitive bidding contest between UP Warriorz and RCB.
The auction for Molineux began with UP Warriorz bidding Rs 50 lakh, quickly followed by RCB, pushing the price to Rs 95 lakh within seconds. UP Warriorz then increased the bid to Rs 1 crore, with RCB responding at Rs 1.05 crore before UP Warriorz placed the final bid of Rs 1.10 crore to win the player.
In addition to Molineux, UP Warriorz also reacquired Australian all-rounder Grace Harris for Rs 30 lakh. Harris, who previously represented the franchise in the 2023, 2024 and 2025 seasons, was part of RCB’s title-winning team in 2026 but released prior to this auction as the team prepared for the return of Ellyse Perry.
UP Warriorz further secured India all-rounder Sneh Rana at her base price of Rs 30 lakh. Rana has former affiliations with Gujarat Giants, Delhi Capitals and RCB. She was acquired without competing bids.
Elsewhere in the auction, Ireland all-rounder Orla Prendergast was signed by Gujarat Giants for Rs 30 lakh. Prendergast has scored 455 runs in 15 T20 internationals this year at an average of 35 and a strike rate of 128.89, alongside taking 15 wickets during the same period.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu remained unsold after attracting no bids in Set 2 of the auction.
The WPL 2027 auction featured a total of 146 players competing for 27 available slots across five teams.